Vencuyan
by Jess Marylin
Summary: Sequel to Aliit. Fives and Sky, now married, must hide their relationship. Which will not be easy, especially now with a baby on the way... Fives/OC.
1. Comfort

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Sequel to Aliit. I suggest reading that one first if you haven't already. And be sure to check out the one-shots too! The chronological list for them is on my profile._

* * *

Ever since they'd scattered Devrin's ashes only hours earlier, ARC Trooper Fives had been trying to find ways to distract Sergeant Skylar Cordav. He didn't mind holding his wife close, in fact, he enjoyed doing so. But he couldn't stand seeing and hearing her cry. To see her suffering like that... It completely tore him apart.

So he'd suggested sparring. Okay, so it was the middle of the night, but this was better than trying to convince a very distraught Sky into trying to get some sleep.

He grunted, the air whooshing out of his lungs as his wife floored him after about forty minutes. _I must be getting better, it usually doesn't take her that long to knock me down. That or she's still too upset to focus._ Almost without thinking, he lashed out with his hand and caught her ankle. Skylar fell right on top of him, both of them laughing. And he himself was distracted by the feel of his love's body on top of his, "Hey there, _cyar'ika_."

She laughed, nuzzling his neck, "Hey there yourself, _F'ika_."

"When was the last time we were _really_ alone like this?"

She snorted, trying to control her laughter, "Hmm... Let's see... Last night? You _do_ remember last night, right? 'Cause I definitely do..."

And it was Fives' turn to laugh as he felt his face heat up, "Of course, how could I forget? Did you-" He stumbled over his words, trying not to sound like a complete _di'kut_, "Do you want... to pick up where we left off?"

Skylar pulled herself up slightly, bracing her elbows on his chest as her beautiful brown hair fell into his face. He reached up and twirled her one blue lock around his fingers as she leaned in closer, her lips catching his in a deep, lingering kiss. The first one they'd shared since that morning. And although it had only been a short time since the last one, Fives found that he'd literally been starving for the contact. Knowing that Skylar loved him, and that she wasn't afraid to show it anymore, was the best thing he could ever ask for. She and Tea were his world and he was surprised by how quickly they'd become his reason for living. Yes, he still loved his brothers and would die for them, if given the chance. But Sky and Tea...

Speaking of his beautiful wife... Sky's playful brown eyes twinkled as she winked at him, causing his heart rate to pick up, "I never thought you'd ask, _cyar'ika_."

And that was all he could take. Without warning he pulled himself up and grabbed her, carrying her bridal-style to their quarters. Skylar laughing into his chest the entire way. It still amazed him that he was the only one who could make her happy like this, when everything around them was going wrong. Devrin was not the first brother that either of them had lost and he certainly wouldn't be the last, but Fives found comfort in the fact that he and Skylar would always have each other to lean on.

* * *

It was the middle of the night and Kot couldn't sleep. He was currently sitting in the co-pilot's seat of the incognito transport, just watching the swirling colors of hyperspace. And mulling over his last talk with Skylar. He hadn't realized just exactly how much Skylar _loved_ them, how much she was devoted to them, to _him_, until she'd told him that she'd never stop fighting for them. That she just wasn't capable of doing so. The last time that Kot had seen that much devotion, it was when his squadron had died to save him. And, even though Skylar was the fighter that she was, he just couldn't get over the fear of losing her. She was the only sister he'd ever had. Cordav was the one who had made him see that he _mattered_, that his life had a purpose above and beyond the war. The very thought that something might happen to her, like the incident in the Underworld, filled him with dread.

"You still with us, _Kot'ika_?" Hew's quiet voice spoke up from behind the former trooper, making him jump. That question again. But at least Kot knew that it had _nothing_ to do with his suicide attempt all those months ago. The question had simply become habit among the squad. In fact, Kot himself had used it with the other three members of Beta on several occasions.

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to pretend that he hadn't been surprised, but his sergeant had seen right through him. Hew was good at that, reading others. Almost as good as Skylar. "I'm fine, _H'ika_. I just..." Kot sighed, "I just wish that I could somehow talk Sky into retiring. I don't like the idea of her fighting."

Hew slid into the pilot's seat and leaned his head back, eyes closed, "I know what you mean, _vod'ika_. But what you've got to realize is that she feels the same way about _us_. And Sky's been doing this kind of thing longer than we have. I have no doubt in my mind that she'll live through this. She's a _survivor_, always has been."

"I hope you're right, _ner vod_."

Hew opened his eyes and gave Kot a look, "You've gotta have _some_ faith, _Kot'ika_. You start expecting bad things to happen every time you turn around, you'll eventually turn into a twitchy nutter."

"Twitchy nutter? Where in the _manda_ did you get that?"

Hew chuckled, closing his eyes again, "It was one of _Buir_'s favorite sayings. A lot of the old man's quotes were crazier than that one, though. It's a wonder that Jango and the rest of the _Cuy'vil Dar_ managed to put up with him for so long..."

Kot mulled over what Hew had just told him. If Sky and the men she'd trained had had a crazy father, he sure hadn't seen any evidence of it. "How crazy?"

Hew chuckled yet again, opening his eyes again and leaning forward, "One of the things that he used to tell us was that we had to stick together like 'white on rice on a paper plate in a snow storm'. Never knew what he was talking about until I saw actual rice for the first time at Deena's place." He cocked his head, "As a matter of fact, I _still_ don't know what a paper plate's supposed to look like."

Kot couldn't help it, he started laughing. "Isn't it supposed to look like a plate, Hew?" He questioned once he was finally able to catch his breath.

"Shut up, Kot."

Of course, those words only had the _opposite_ effect. Kot was aware of Hew rolling his eyes as he tried, and failed, to stop laughing. It was times like this that the former trooper was beyond grateful that he'd ended up with Cordav's lot. No matter how crazy they might be.

* * *

Just as Fives had set Skylar on the bed there was a timid knock on the door that she instantly recognized. Her husband groaned in irritation at the interruption but Sky immediately slid off the bed and raced to the door. It slid open to reveal a very upset Teanna, who's little cream-colored face was streaked with tears.

Cordav swept the little Togruta girl into her arms and carried her to the bed, "Shh, _T'ika_. It's okay, _ad'ika_. Mama and Daddy are here. You're safe." Fives settled next to them on the bed, his arm wrapping around the both of them. She looked up to see the concerned look on his face. 'Nightmare', she mouthed, and he nodded his head, stroking their daughter's little dark-striped montrals in an effort to comfort her.

"I th-thought I was b-back in the m-mines, M-Mama," Tea sobbed, her right cheek resting against Sky's chest.

Fives gently traced the white diamond mark in the middle of their little girl's forehead, "It wasn't real, Squirt. It's over."

"B-but wh-what if I g-get k-kidnapped again, D-Daddy?"

Skylar's husband immediately took their daughter from her arms and held her tightly to him, "Your mother and I _will not_ let that happen, _ad'ika_." He cupped his hand under Tea's chin, his brown eyes meeting the little girl's dark hazel ones, "That's a promise, Squirt. And your Mama and I don't break our promises, okay?"

Cordav couldn't help but admire how easily Fives had fallen into the role of 'Daddy'. _If only I had taken to being a mother that quickly. But I guess it's only because Fives was around Teanna longer before becoming her dad. I'd only known her for a few hours when I'd adopted her._ Still, there was no sense dwelling on it. Between the two of them, they'd managed to figure it out. And, judging by how Tea was thriving, they were doing a pretty good job so far.

Tea hiccuped, making both of her parents chuckle, "Okay, Daddy. C-can I st-stay with you and M-Mama tonight?

Fives gave Skylar a mock look of longing that she knew had _nothing_ to with their little girl. She responded by playfully mouthing to him that he'd just have to wait and couldn't help another chuckle when he _almost_ pouted. He rolled his eyes at her as he rubbed Tea's back, kissing the top of each of the little girl's tiny montrals, "Of course, Squirt."

* * *

Fives was the first to wake the next morning. He pulled himself up on his elbow, just watching his wife and daughter sleep. Tea was curled against Skylar's chest, and Sky was curled up against his. His arm still draped over the both of them. _I would never have thought that this would _ever_ happen to me. Not in a million years. Especially not for a clone like me..._

And... of _course_ there would _have_ to be a knock at the door. _Every kriffing time._ He sighed, rolling his brown eyes. Over the past day and half, there had been an interruption _every_ single time he'd managed to find a free moment with his new family. One reason was having three single guys in close proximity. Gabe and Deena instinctively knew when to make themselves scarce, but the remaining members of Tor Squad still had a lot to learn, apparently. Fives' face turned bright red at a certain memory of Jinx almost accidentally walking in on him and Sky one time...

Another time, Quirk had come in trying to talk to Fives while he'd been reading a bed time story to Tea, the very one that Sky's own _Buir_ had once read to her. Although that interruption hadn't been embarrassing, Quirk _had_ interrupted his special time with his daughter.

The knock sounded again and Fives got up from the bed, taking great care not to wake his still slumbering girls. _Sky must really be tired. It's not like her to sleep through someone pounding on the door like that._

He opened the door, fully intending to give whoever it was a piece of his mind. The door slid open, revealing a clearly uncomfortable Dover. It was so unusual to see the hot-tempered clone so out of his element that Fives almost completely forgot his irritation. In fact, he almost chuckled. If it weren't for the serious look in his brother's eyes. The look that told the ARC that something was clearly wrong.

"Dover? What's going on?"

"Hew just tried calling your comlink, _ner vod_." And Fives wanted to smack himself one right there. _I left my com in the training room! How could I have been so _di'kutla_?_ Dover placed the piece of tech in Fives' hand. "He and Beta are on their way here. You and Sky have got yourselves another mission. They'll brief the two of you when they arrive."

"Which will be?"

"In about three hours. Should give you some time to enjoy your little _aliit_."

Despite himself, Fives couldn't help but chuckle, "_Vor'e_, _Dov'ika_."

Dover laughed as he turned and walked back down the hallway, "Just don't get _too_ carried away, _vod'ika_..."

If Fives had had something in his hand, he had no doubt in his mind that the object would have connected quite soundly with the back of the medic's head.

* * *

_vencuyan = future (in the most positive sense of the word) _

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_-ika = little (F'ika - little Fives) Usually a term of endearment.  
_

_manda = heaven_

_Buir = Papa (father)_

_di'kut = idiot, moron_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_di'kutla = stupid, idiotic_

_aliit = family_

_vor'e = thanks_

_vod'ika_

_Please R&R._


	2. Fireworks?

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Okay, I'm planning on updating this fic every Friday. There may be an extra chapter (maybe two) every so often, but I'm not too sure when those will be._

_Just a little bit of info. The twitchy nutter phrase from last chapter was one I came up with on the spot, but the rice, plate, and snowstorm phrase is a pretty common saying down here in the South. My brother uses it quite frequently._

_Big thanks to ZabuzasGirl, Fidgeymugato, Me, Kelana-ti, Depthcharge2030, Janizary, TheStoopeds182, DarthZ, and MandoJedi for reviewing! Wow, _nine_ reviews. That's the most I've ever gotten for a first chapter. You guys are just plain awesome!_

_Okay, I'm done rambling. On to the story...  
_

* * *

Teanna woke to somebody's hand touching her cheek. She opened her eyes and glared at the culprit. Culprit. That word she'd learned from Uncle Dover just the night before. And she kinda liked how it sounded. Like a fancy word for criminal. Not that her father was a criminal, of course.

Daddy just chuckled and ran his fingers lightly over her right lekku, making her twitch. "_Daddy_," she whined. "_Stop_. I was _sleeping_."

Fives chuckled again, obviously trying hard to stay quiet, "Sorry, Squirt. But I kind of need you to be up right now, _ad'ika_."

"What for? Daddy, I don't wanna get up. Five more minutes."

"Stop whining Tea," her daddy said gently. "We don't want to wake your mama."

"Okay, Daddy," she said with a yawn, wiggling out of her mother's arms and crawling onto her father's lap. She laid her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, "Why do I have to get up, Daddy?"

"You and I are going to make breakfast this morning." Something about Daddy's voice wasn't right. _He's not telling me everything._ As he stood, she straightened, her dark hazel eyes boring into his brown ones. His eyes were tight and she couldn't help but feel scared, "Did someone else die, Daddy?"

He sighed, "No, Squirt." Daddy balanced her on his left hip and headed into the hallway. As soon as the door was closed behind him, he started walking slowly toward the galley.

Teanna waited patiently, knowing that Daddy would tell her when he was ready. _Daddy and Mama promised me that they would _always_ tell me the truth._ She didn't have to wait long.

Daddy sighed, "Tea, your mother and I have another mission."

* * *

Fives watched with dismay as his little girl froze, her expression turning into one of fear and horror. He kissed her diamond mark, "We'll be okay." This was why he'd decided to let Sky sleep a little longer. Yes she needed to now about the mission as soon as possible, but the ARC Trooper knew that it would kill his wife to see this particular expression on their baby's face. _Just like it's killing me right now. I don't want to leave. But what choice do I have?_ He still couldn't believe how fast he'd gone from independent soldier to overprotective dad.

"Wh-when do y-you leave?" Tea whispered, her eyes still wide with shock.

He almost didn't have the heart to tell her, "In a few hours. Uncle Hew, Uncle Top, Uncle Doz, and Uncle Kot are on their way here. We'll be leaving with them and you'll go home with Uncle Gabe, Aunt Deena, and Briika."

"What about Uncle Jinx, Uncle Dover, and Uncle Quirk? Where are they going, Daddy?"

"Back to the Barracks, Squirt."

Suddenly the little Togruta wound her arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life, "You c-can't go, D-daddy. You can't l-leave m-me," she cried.

_If it weren't for this _di'kutla_ war..._ Fives was one step away from deserting right then. Tea was his _daughter_. She _needed_ him. And here he was, putting her second place to a mission. He shook his head. _But I can't leave. I can't leave my brothers. They're my family too._ And, like his wife, he wasn't one to walk out on his family.

"Shh, _ad'ika_. I _promise_ that your mother and I are coming back to you, okay?"

Tea became very quiet, "Uncle D-Devrin said the s-same thing."

Fives really didn't know what to say to that, so he settled on reiterating his promise, "Tea, I will do _everything_ I can to come back to you. I love you, _ner ad'ika_."

"I l-love you t-too, D-Daddy."

_This _di'kutla_ mission had _better_ be worth it..._

* * *

"_Ba'vodu! Ba'vodu!_" Little Tea yelled happily as she ran as fast as she could toward Beta Squad. Kot had _no_ idea what she was saying, aside from the fact that it was some Mando word. He'd been picking up a few phrases of the language here and there, but there was apparently still a lot to learn.

Sky's little girl ran right up to him, throwing her arms around his armored right leg, "I _missed_ you, Uncle Kot."

Beta all wore white armor with no markings, one of the very few squads that still did so. Which meant that they were identical at first glance._ How the heck did she know that it was me?_ The commando placed a gloved hand on top of her little head, right between her montrals, "I missed you too, kid."

In truth, he really had been missing the little Togruta. She was always so full of energy, so _alive_, that just being around her was... well, he'd actually found himself thinking about what it would be like to have his own kid. Someday. _Tea and little Briika have shown me that there is a _reason_ for all this bloodshed. Kids like them _need_ protection. Teanna's already been touched by the war and she shouldn't have been in the first place. I can only hope that Briika never knows what it's like... Who am I kidding though? Gabe and Deena are completely Mando now, just like Sky. Well, at least the girls will grow up knowing how to defend themselves..._

Kot couldn't help but chuckle as the little girl's attention quickly turned to his squadmates. His closest brothers now. _I wonder if my attention span was ever that short._

And of course, because he wasn't really paying attention himself, Skylar about knocked him flat. She wasn't even wearing her armor, dressed in fatigues, and he couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't wincing. Running into Katarn armor like that without any protection _hurt_.

"Don't _do_ that, Sky!"

She laughed. "Don't tell me that you've already forgotten all that I've taught you. Always keep your guard up, _vod'ika_." But there was a smile on her face and in her voice as she lectured him. And he was at a complete loss. _No one_ had ever greeted him like Tea and Sky had.

That's when he noticed the hollow look in her eyes. _She's missing Dev._ Without thinking he pulled off his helmet, clipping it to his belt before he pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry, sis. Are you going to be okay?"

Cordav buried her face in his neck, "Yeah. I've still got you guys. I'll be fine."

"Where's your boyfriend?" Doz questioned, Tea now in his arms.

Skylar pulled out of Kot's embrace, a slightly sheepish look on her face. _I wonder what that look's for?_ All of Beta looked to the woman for an answer, but it was the little girl who spoke up.

"_Daddy_ is in the ship with Tor," Teanna spoke up matter-of-factly.

And Kot was _completely_ dumbfounded. _Skylar and Fives are... married?_ Yeah, he knew about Gabe and Deena. But he totally hadn't been expecting anything to happen between the Mando sergeant and the ARC Trooper. Even if it was _obvious_ from the first time he'd met them that there was something between them.

All of Beta was shocked to silence, except for Hew, "When did this happen, Sky?" There was a pause and Cordav opened her mouth to speak, but Beta's sergeant didn't give her a chance, "And when in the _manda_ were you planning on telling us?"

Her cheeks flushed, "The day a-after Dev-" Sky shook her head, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you boys right away. I wanted to tell you face to face."

"You should have told us sooner, _S'ika_," Top said gently, but firmly.

Doz was shaking his head, "I don't know why you three are getting your armor twisted up in knots over this. If you ask me, you're all being _di'kute_. We should be having a big party. I mean, Sky and Fives are _married_ now. I'd say that's cause enough for celebration." His eyes went wide, "I _knew_ I should have picked up some fireworks."

Tea's hazel eyes were wide, her little lekku twitching in excitement, "Fireworks? We're gonna have _real_ fireworks?"

Of course, that only made the five adults start laughing _hard_. And, just like that, all tension was forgotten. _If more people could be like this, maybe we wouldn't be at war._

Hew shook his head, still chuckling, "Mission first. We'll celebrate _when_ we get back home."

Tea's excited eyes were completely focused on Beta's sergeant, "So that means we're still gonna have fireworks, right?"

* * *

After Tea had reluctantly went down for a nap, Skylar sat next to her husband as Hew briefed the two of them on the new mission from Zey. Tor, Gabe, and Deena were also in attendance. Briika fast asleep in her father's arms. The baby was almost three months old. _It's hard to believe that so much time has passed._ Absently, she placed a hand on her stomach, lost in thought. _I know that Fives and I already have Tea, but it would be nice to have another _ad'ika_._ It was just an errant thought and not likely to happen anytime soon. Their daughter was already a handful as it was and Sky just didn't think she'd be able to stay away from the battlefield for nine months.

That, and she knew what Fives would say if she brought up the baby talk. That they'd just gotten married, that the time wasn't right. _Both of us are soldiers in this war. We've just found a balance with Tea and there's no _way_ that we could properly care for a newborn too. _She'd just have to wait until the war was over. _However long that is..._

Sky was jolted out of her thoughts by Fives' elbow digging gently into her ribs. He'd learned that tactic from her, even though he was gentler. Whenever _she_ elbowed _him_ she usually didn't hold back, much. He gave her a look that told her that he _knew_ she hadn't been paying attention. She gave him a loving, innocent smile in return.

Which succeeded in making him turn bright red. She chuckled quietly.

"You lovebirds done over there, or do we need to leave you two alone?" And, of course, that was Doz.

Cordav blushed, "Sorry guys. What were you saying, Hew?" Said sergeant gave her a slightly disappointed look. The kind of look that she'd given her brothers many times over the course of their training. And she _immediately_ felt guilty. _I worked hard to drill all that training into them and here I am, doing _exactly_ what I told them _never_ to do. Focus, Cordav. I've gotta be the worst kind of _hut'uun_ ever._

Hew cleared his throat, "As I was saying... General Kenobi left for Iridonia two days ago. He was supposed to check in yesterday evening, which was when he was supposed to arrive on the planet."

"Let me guess. The _Jetiise_ haven't been able to get a hold of him." Statement. Not question.

Top shook his head, "Nada. Absolutely _nothing_."

"Which means that either Maul killed him, or-" Top began, only to be cut off by Doz.

"Or he's on the run with Maul on his tail and can't afford the luxury of a little chat with the Council."

Kot cleared his throat, "What I don't get is... How is Maul even still _alive_? According to the reports that I've read, the general cut him with his lightsaber. In _half_. How could _anyone_ survive that?"

Skylar shifted, uncomfortable. She'd already gone toe to toe with a _dar'jetii_ before. She had a feeling that a _Siit_, especially one of Maul's supposed caliber, would be _much_ worse. "I guess we'll find out, _Kot'ika_," she replied, making sure to keep her voice confident. Her _aliit_ needed her to be strong. Which meant that she couldn't afford to show any doubt. That didn't stop her from thinking it, though.

What scared Cordav even more was that Fives, her husband, would be exposed to the same danger as the rest of them. That thought was extemely selfish on her part, but she couldn't help it.

Fives seemed to have intuited her thoughts. His wrapped an around her shoulders and she found herself relaxing in his embrace. _As long as we stick together, we should be fine._

* * *

_ad'ika = little one_

_di'kutla = stupid, idiotic_

_ner = my  
_

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_manda = heaven_

_di'kute = idiots_

_hut'uun = coward (in this case, a hypocrite)_

_Jetiise = Jedi (in the plural)_

_dar'jetii = Dark Jedi (literally 'no longer a Jedi')_

_Siit = Sith_

_Please R&R._


	3. Timing

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to Zabuzasgirl, Fidgeymugato, DarthZ, Kelana-ti, Tahiri Veila Solo, Depthcharge2030, spikala, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Six weeks had passed since Skylar, Fives, and Beta had set out for Iridonia. That mission had been a total flop and Sky remembered her exasperation when Zey had commed her to let her know that Kenobi had been recovered. Right before they'd landed, of course. She had to remind herself not to get irritated at the _Jetii_. He couldn't have known that he was sending them out for nothing.

In fact, once she'd thought it over, she was kind of pleased with how things had turned out. As they were waiting for a new assignment, the six of them had gotten a brief respite. And Sky and Fives had gotten more alone time that they'd desparately needed. Best thing was that the boys of Beta were _much_ better at making themselves scarce than Tor was...

She smiled as she opened her eyes to see her husband sleeping soundly beside her. Fives was on his stomach, his face turned towards her. Cordav couldn't help but notice how much younger he looked. _I already know that he's handsome, but he's definitely cute when he's asleep._ The hard lines of battle and weariness disappeared whenever he was out cold like this. Fives had just gotten in the night before from a month of long missions. More and more boys were being killed on the battlefield, which meant that, according to the _Tsad Droten_, her ARC trooper couldn't be spared to help her cross-train more commandos. Speaking of which, this new batch of boys that she was currently training was smaller than the last. Eight instead of sixteen. Two squads instead of four, and that worried her. Upset her too.

Of course, it didn't take much to upset her lately. For example, when Fives had commed her two weeks ago to let her know that he'd be gone longer than they'd originally thought, she'd actually _cried_. _I probably scared the _osik_ out of him too._ To say that Fives had been concerned was an understatement. If she hadn't assured him that she was just worn out and missing him like crazy, she had no doubt in her mind that her husband would have told Zey _exactly_ where the general could stuff his 'missions'.

Still half asleep, she felt her thoughts drift before settling onto the reports she'd read the night before, right before Fives had come in. Maul and this Oppress had been on a rampage for weeks and it seemed for a while that no one could stop them. Last week, Kenobi and Gallia had headed for Florrum to try. Gallia, a prominent Master herself, had actually been killed by Oppress, whom Sky had figured, basing her guess on the reports themselves, was the weaker of the two Sith. _Which means that he's the apprentice of the pair._

If there was one thing Mandos knew better and hated more than the _Jetiise_, it was the Sith. Not only had her people once been used by both sides of Force users, they'd been almost wiped out by the darksider scum. The knowledge of that bloody war between the _Mando'ade_ and the _Siitse_ had been passed down through millenia. Even though Sky had never met a real Sith, she, like all of her people, was more than prepared to fight one should the time come.

_Of course, I don't know how in the _manda_ I'll be able to fight anything with my back aching like this._ Skylar shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position.

"_S'ika_," Fives said drowsily. He yawned before resting his sleepy brown gaze on her, "What's wrong, _cyar'ika_?"

"Nothing, Fives. I'm sorry I woke you."

He turned onto his side, reaching out and pulling her closer to him, his features completely serious, "You don't need to apologize, Sky." Fives looked at the chronometer lying on his bedside table and turned back to her, "0513. Which means we still have time before the others wake up."

She couldn't help but laugh at his eager expression. He silenced her with a deep kiss, "Kriff, I _missed_ you."

Cordav started to respond, but ended up jerking away from him as an unexpected wave of nausea hit her. She ran as fast as she possibly could to the 'fresher, making it just in time as her stomach emptied itself of it's contents.

"Sky!"

* * *

Fives had been expecting his lovely wife to respond by telling him that she missed him too. He most certainly had _not_ been expecting her to streak to the 'fresher like there was no tomorrow. He jumped up to follow Skylar, freezing in the doorway as she became violently sick into the toilet bowl, "Sky!"

Skylar couldn't respond verbally but she gave him the most reassuring look that she could. As she threw up again. _There's no way that Sky could have caught a simple virus. She's been inoculated just as much as us clones have._ Whatever this was, it was something _serious_. Judging from the panic that ever so briefly flittered over her features as he knelt beside her, she was thinking the same thing.

Fives gently pulled his wife's long brown hair out of her way and into a loose bun before he started rubbing her back as she vomited for a third time. He'd never felt so... _helpless_.

"What happened?" _Deena. Thank the _manda_. If anyone can figure out what's going on, it's her._

"I don't know, Dee," he responded, very aware that his voice was shaking and not caring at all about how scared he sounded. "One minute she's fine, the next-" He was cut off by the sound of Skylar retching again. _That's four times in less than five minutes._ He felt the cold weight of dread settling in his stomach, "What's wrong with her?"

By this time Sky was panting, trying to catch her breath. But she wasn't throwing up anymore, thank the _manda_. Fives put his arms around her and she wilted against him, shaking hard. "_Udesii_, _cyar'ika_. It's okay, I've got you," he murmured as soothingly as he could, the worry still managing to leak out in his voice.

Deena crouched in front of them, "Has this happened before, Sky?" There was the sound of a hoverchair as she spoke and Fives looked up to see Gabe watching them from the doorway, concern etched into his features.

"Only once," Skylar responded breathlessly, still shaking.

Fives whipped his head back toward his wife so fast that his neck popped, "Why in the galaxy didn't you tell me, Skylar?"

She winced at his reprimanding tone, "'Cause it wasn't this bad. I hadn't wanted to worry you at the time because I'd thought it was just something I ate. I didn't want to distract you if you were fighting."

"You're never a distraction, sweetheart, and I don't care how minor you think something is. I'm your _husband_, _S'ika_. I need to know these things, okay?"

By the look on her face, she was about to argue. _Typical, hard-headed Mando woman._ Gabe cleared his throat and Sky's expression softened. "Okay," she responded quietly.

Deena, not to be deterred, was still watching Sky, examining her with a practiced eye, "When was the last time, Skylar?"

"Two days ago," Sky answered as she shifted in Fives' arms. She winced, her hand automatically reaching to rub her lower back.

One of the half-Firrerreo woman's eyebrows raised questioningly, "And just how _long_ has your back been aching?"

Skylar buried her face into Fives' chest, her indication that she was tired of talking. "Almost two weeks," was the muffled reply. He couldn't help chuckling a little at his wife's actions even if he was still worrying about her health. He'd _never_ seen anyone this sick before, as Rex and Commander Tano's brush with the Blue Shadow Virus had happened before he and Domino Squad had left Kamino. _Her back's hurting her too? Could all of this have to do with an injury?_ His breath caught in his throat. _What if she got hurt training her new boys? It would be just like her to hide something like that to keep me from worrying._ Wait a minute. _She said 'two weeks'. Was her back the reason why she was so upset when I commed her that time?_ And he immediately felt awful for not coming straight home to her right then.

Deena looked over to her own husband, "_Cyar'ika_, could you get Sky some water? Some crackers too. I need to see if she can keep something down." The more time he spent around Gabe's wife, the more she reminded him of Kix. Quiet most of the time, but with a kind of authority about her that made others shut up and listen when she did speak up. The fact that the other woman wasn't panicking actually calmed Fives down. _But I still want to know what's wrong with _my_ woman._

Sky pulled her face out of Fives' shirt and glared at Deena from the safety of his arms, "I don't feel like eating, Deena. And besides, won't that just make me sicker?"

"Not if this is what I _think_ it is." There was no mistaking the suggestive tone in the blue-eyed woman's voice. Thing was, Fives had _no_ idea what Gabriel's wife was suggesting.

_What the _manda_ is that supposed to mean?_

Skylar stiffened and her face paled, "That can't be it, Dee. Not now, the timing's _definitely_ not good."

_Timing?_ "Will someone _gedet'ye_ tell me what in the _manda_ is going on?"

"If I'm right, what Skylar has is called 'morning sickness', Fives. I had it when I was carrying Briika. It's basically just a side affect of a near-human or human woman's body trying to get used to carrying a baby. It's really nothing to be worried about."

Fives couldn't answer as Deena's news had rendered him completely speechless. _Huh?_ He knew that his sister-in-law had said something _very_ important, but he was currently unable to process it. _Did Deena just say what I thought she'd said? I must be hearing things._

Skylar, on the other hand, understood the other woman completely and seemed to have gained the strength back in her own voice, "There is no way in the galaxy that I could be _pregnant_, Deena!"

Deena looked Sky straight in the eyes, met Fives' now shocked gaze, then turned her attention back to Skylar. An amused smirk on her face, "You sure about that? 'Cause I thought that's what happened when a man and a woman..."

"A baby?" Fives barely managed to whisper. _Still in shock over here._

Sky snuggled into him, "We're not sure, _F'ika_. And, until we are," she sent Deena another glare, "not a _single_ word to _anyone_. Especially Tea."

Fives' mouth opened like a fish out of water. Before he could manage to say anything, though, Sky's personal comlink chirruped from it's place on her nightstand.

* * *

Kot dodged blaster fire that a group of commando droids were sending their way. _Lousy shots. If they weren't so dang hard to kill..._ "How much ammo you got left, Top. I'm out."

Top responded by throwing another two packs his way. The bald clone wasn't one for talking when fighting was going on. Unless you counted muttering to himself. Gabe had once told Kot that most of the Cordav boys had picked that up from Sky and Orar. The way that Beta still talked about their adoptive father even though he'd been dead for several years was enough to make the former trooper wish that he'd been trained by the Mando father/daughter duo even more. _Can't dwell on that right now._

He snapped the first ammo pack into his DC-17, noting that the stamp on it wasn't the Republic's seal, but rather the Seppies'. Top was picking up ammo from the droids they'd already killed. _Why the _osik_ didn't I think of that? Maybe because I didn't know that they'd fit in my DC._ That was a little strange. Why would two very different sides have weaponry that was almost a close match? _Something about this just doesn't feel right. I'll bring it up to Hew and I guess we probably need to tell Skylar when we get back to Triple Zero._ A little voice in the back of his head told him that General Zey probably needed to know about it too. _Then again, the _Jetiise_ will probably just write it off as 'coincidence'._

There was an explosion to their left and Doz's voice came over the link, sounding bored. "Incoming," he droned in an annoying nasal tone, several seconds after the blast. _On purpose, of course._

Top muttered a long string of what might possibly be insults directed at Beta's medic, but the only word that Kot caught was '_di'kut_'. _I probably don't even _want_ to know what Top said._

"Doz, I swear, if you don't _k'uur_ right now, I'll pin you up for these useless tinnies to use as target practice." That was Hew. The longer this _shabla_ mission carried on, the thinner his patience became. He definitely was more of a sergeant now and less of the quiet clone that Kot remembered meeting back in the medbay of the Resolute. Back when Kot had been a hopeless and depressed 'Thirteen'.

"Aye, aye, Cap'n."

"Just shut it, Doz," Kot said, exasperated. At the beginning, when he'd first started working with Beta, he wouldn't have dared to reprimand one of them like this. Now it was second nature. _Especially when it comes to Doz._ "We're already in deep _osik_. Now's not the time to be a distraction."

"Awww. Hear that, guys? Our little _Kot'ika_ is all grown up!" Kot rolled his eyes. _How can he even focus enough to shoot those clankers if he's too busy winding us up like this?_ _Fives was right. He's _worse_ than Devrin was._ At least Dev had known when to shut up and be serious. _Stang. I barely knew the guy, but I miss having him around._

Doz said something else equally annoying which caused Kot to clench his teeth. _At this rate, Doz's jokes are gonna kill us faster than these _osikla_ droids._

"Kot! Look out!" Top yelled, knocking his brother off his feet. The bald clone let out a pained yelp and Kot was up and at his brother's head in an instant.

Kot froze, eyes on the huge piece of shrapnel sticking out of Top's right shoulder. _He pushed me out of the way..._ "Top! Hang on, _ner vod_. Hang on," he whispered as Top's gloved hand grabbed his in a death grip. _Just hold on. _Gedet'ye_. I can't lose you too..._

* * *

_Jetii = Jedi (singular)_

_Tsad Droten = Republic_

_osik = crap_

_Jetiise = Jedi (plural)_

_Mando'ade = Mandalorians_

_Siitse = Sith (plural)_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_manda = heaven_

_udesii = easy, calm down_

_gedet'ye = please_

_di'kut = idiot_

_k'uur = shut up_

_shabla = cursed_

_osikla = crappy_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_Please R&R._


	4. Yaihadla

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Bonus chapter! Hope ya'll like it!  
_

_Big thanks to Janizary, spikala, Fidgeymugato, Depthcharge2030, and Kelana-ti for reviewing!  
_

_Oh, and just in case any of ya were wondering... Teanna's nickname is pronounced 'Tee-uh'.  
_

* * *

As soon as Cordav's comlink started beeping, her sister-in-law immediately jumped up to grab it. When she brought it back into the 'fresher, Fives took it from her. Sky snatched it from her husband, giving him a look, "It won't do for you to be answering my comlink when you're supposed to be at the Barracks, _F'ika_." The beeping tone wasn't the one she'd assigned for her _vod'ikase_. _Which means that it's either one of the _Jetiise_ or one of my contacts._

"Cordav here," she answered, her voice just a tiny bit breathless from her retching spell.

The answering voice proved her right. She immediately recognized the clipped Coruscanti accent of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Sergeant Cordav, I'm sorry to bother you so early."

"It's okay, General. I was already up." _Definitely not telling him why, though._ "What can I do for you, sir?" Normally, she would be calling the _Jetii_ by his last name, as was tradition with her people. But she figured that the only reason why he would be calling her this early was that he was probably shipping out, which meant that he was surrounded by troops. _Another battle._

"Have you read my recent report on Maul and Oppress?"

She scrunched her face up and shared a confused look with Fives. Deena had already made herself scarce. _No doubt she'll be back as soon as I cut this link._ Skylar rolled her eyes. _As soon as we get some good news the war comes right back into our lives._ "Yes, sir. I have."

"This is completely off the record, Sergeant." _I don't like the sound of this..._ "I need you to find any information you can on Maul on his brother." _He thinks they survived that crash on Florrum._

"You want me to track them down, sir? I'm gonna need a team for that." Fives was already shaking his head, mouthing 'no' _several_ times.

"Take any one of your squads. May I suggest taking ARC Trooper Fives as well? The two of you seem to work well together." Sky almost snorted in laughter, laying her free hand over her lower abdomen where her baby would be if she really was pregnant. Fives laid his bigger hand over hers. _If only you knew, Kenobi. If only you knew..._

"I'll get right on it, sir."

As soon as she shut off the link, Fives took her chin gently in his hand, making her look up at him, "Sky, _cyar'ika_, you are _not_ doing this. You _have_ to stay. I'll go."

Cordav pulled out of his grasp and gave him a stern look, "It's just an intel job, _F'ika_. It's not like Kenobi asked to me to actuallly _fight_ them."

"But, Sky, you're pregnant. It's not safe," his voice was practically laced with concern. _He actually sounds scared._ "You do this, you'll be putting yourself and the _baby_ at risk."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "We don't know that I'm pregnant for sure, yet. And even if I do go, I won't be at much risk."

He rolled his dark brown eyes at her, "You _know_ that things _never_ work out that way, _S'ika_."

"Well, if things do go south, I know that you'll be there to protect me."

"Protect the _both_ of you," he corrected, gently rubbing her still flat belly. Thankfully he'd already learned that there wasn't any point in arguing with her when it came to things like her job. The possible baby was another matter entirely.

She leaned back against Fives, resting her head right under his chin. _At least he's taking this pretty well. Better than Gabe did when Dee found out that she was pregnant with Briika. Still, I don't want him to get his hopes up just in case I'm not..._ "Like I said, love. We don't know for sure."

Fives exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sky was expecting another rebuttal from him, but he surprised her. _I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, though. Fives has always been easygoing around me._ "How much longer before we _do_ know for sure?"

That's when Deena reappeared, Gabe right behind her, "Today. I've already scheduled an appointment with one of my co-workers. She can keep a secret." The half-Firrerreo woman winked at the couple on the floor.

Osik_._ Sky rolled her brown eyes. _It's like they're all ganging up on me._

* * *

As an ARC Trooper, Fives had been trained to be patient. Patience. That was what a lot of his job entailed. Waiting until the best moment to strike. He knew how to be still, but now, he couldn't be still for the life of him. Hence the reason why he was pacing in one of the medcenter's waiting rooms. The medic who'd treated Deena while she was pregnant was currently in her office seeing to his wife. While the woman could be trusted, her staff couldn't be. Which was why he and Gabe were waiting across the hall.

And Fives was about to go crazy.

Gabe rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face as he looked up at the younger clone from his hoverchair, "Calm down, _vod'ika_. The two of you already have Tea, I don't know why you're so anxious about this baby."

"I'm not anxious about having a kid, Gabe. I'm worried about, Sky. If being pregnant makes her sick like she was this morning, is it really worth it?" he questioned, forcing himself to sit in the chair next to the former sergeant. Drumming his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair. _I think Sky's in more shock than I am. She never brought the subject up, but I _know_ that she's been wanting another kid. Skylar just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon, I think she's still in denial._

Gabriel nodded immediately, "Of _course_ it is, Fives. When you hold your little one for the first time..." He shook his head, his expression one of wonder. "It still amazes me that Deena and I have Brii."

Fives nodded his head, "I think I know what you're talking about. Every time I see Teanna, I have to remind myself that she's mine. I've even caught myself wondering what she was like when she was little. I'm still a little upset that I missed all of that."

Gabe shook his head, a look of regret on his features.

"What is it, _Gab'ika_?"

"When my wife told me that she was pregnant, I wasn't too happy at first. I mean, we were raised to fight. Us Cordav boys were lucky enough to have a sergeant who became our father, but we weren't exactly raised to be fathers _ourselves_. I didn't think that I could do it, and I said a few things that really upset Deena. I only wish that I could have taken the news better, like you're doing."

"You think I'm taking it well, Gabe?" Fives shook his head, "_Ner vod_, I'm _terrified_. What if something goes wrong? What if Sky gets sicker than she was this morning? What if she loses-" he gulped, his brown eyes wide with fear. "What if she loses the baby?"

Gabe reached over and patted Fives' shoulder, "Quit worrying, Fives. Sky's a strong woman. I have no doubt in my mind that she'll carry that baby to term."

"Term?"

Gabe laughed, shaking his head, "The whole nine months, Fives."

Fives' mouth opened wide and it took several minutes for him to finally snap it shut. "Nine months?! Sky's going to pregnant for _nine_ months? That's a _long_ time."

Gabriel laughed again, barely able to control himself this time, "More like eight months now, _F'ika_. And trust me, that time will _fly_ by."

"It's still a long time," Fives whispered, still in shock. _Every time I turn around today, one of them says something like that._

_Eight _months_?!_

* * *

Tea sat at the table across from her Uncle Kendan. Aran Squad had showed up to babysit her while Uncle Gabe and Aunt Deena went with Mama and Daddy to the medcenter where her aunt worked. They hadn't said _why_ they were going there, but Tea just figured that they were visiting someone her aunt worked with. _I still don't know why I couldn't go. I'm _real_ good at being still._

She'd asked Kendan why she couldn't go and he'd told her that she'd just have to wait until her parents got home. When she'd whined about having to wait, the sniper from Aran Squad had challenged her to a staring contest and the little Togruta was so sure that she was gonna win.

Until her _ba'vodu_ blew in her face and made her blink, that is. "That's not fair, Uncle Kendan! You cheated!"

The clone chuckled, "Technically it's not cheating if you didn't _say_ that I couldn't blow in your face, _ad'ika_."

Tea's little face scrunched up, her lekku twitching in irritation, "It's _already_ one of the rules, Uncle Kendan! I _don't_ have to tell you not to do it!"

That was when Uncle Wreck came into the kitchen, "What the _manda_ are you yelling about, _T'ika_?"

"Uncle Wreck, Uncle Kendan's cheating!"

Wreck rolled his eyes, "Ken, quit torturing the little girl."

"I'm not little! I'm a _big_ girl, Daddy said so." For some reason, that made both of her uncles laugh uncontrollably. "It's not funny! This is _serious_!"

"Of course it is, Tea," Uncle Fidget said from the doorway, glaring at his two squadmates.

Uncle Cade entered the room behind them, "Sky just called."

"Are Mama and Daddy coming back now?"

Cade affectionately rubbed the spot between her montrals, "Yeah, kiddo. Want to help me get lunch ready for them?"

Teanna nodded enthusiastically making her little lekku swing in her excitement.

* * *

Deena and Sky walked into the waiting room and the blue-eyed woman closed the door behind them. Skylar noticed that Fives only had eyes for her, and she had a hard time keeping a straight face.

He raised his brows at her in question and Cordav couldn't help it. She beamed at him and launched herself into his arms. Fives laughed and spun her once, setting her back down and kissing her soundly. And she finally found herself relaxing. She had been so wound up in not wanting to get Fives' hopes up that she hadn't realized that she'd been keeping herself on edge.

_I really am _yaihadla_. I'm having Fives' baby._ The only thing that would come close to that would be seeing Tea's expression when they told their daughter that she was going to be a big sister.

_It's too bad that we've got this _shabla_ mission to go on. At least Fives will still be with me._

* * *

Doz had headed back with Top to their transport to start treating the bald clone's injury while Kot and Hew finished up with the commando droids. There was only a handful left and, like all droids, they didn't know when to give up. Just like clones, they fought to the last one standing. But they weren't smart enough to dodge laser fire so it wasn't long before the last droid fell to one of Hew's shots.

The normally quiet man was even quieter now. Usually after a victory, he'd let loose an ecstatic '_Kandosii_' or something similar. _Not today, though. Not after what just happened to Top..._

"Let's get to the ship, Kot. I'd say it's time that we got the heck out of here."

As soon as they got aboard the rickety transport, Kot made a beeline to the bunks where Doz was working on a heavily sedated Top. Hew had headed straight to the cockpit. They were only a few parsecs away from Coruscant. _The sooner we get to Triple Zero, the better for Top._

"Is he gonna be okay, _D'ika_?" Kot couldn't help but notice that Doz had showered and was in clean fatigues.

"Don't get too close, Kot!" Doz admonished firmly. He ran a hand through his long black curls. Doz was the only brother that Kot knew of who had chin length hair. "I'm not sure, _Kot'ika_." Kot gasped and the medic held up a hand, completely serious. He wasn't his normal goofy self and it scared Kot. "His injury isn't fatal, but I'm worried about infection. I've cleaned the wound as much as I could, but, to be frank, I don't have the right kit. The sooner we get back to Corrie, the better."

Kot nodded, only a little consoled and still worried out of his mind, "Have you had time to call Sky yet?"

"No, Kot. I've still gotta stitch Top up, so you're gonna have to do it."

* * *

_vod'ikase = little brothers_

_Jetiise = Jedi (plural)_

_Jetii = Jedi (singular)_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_osik = crap_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_ad'ika = little one_

_manda = heaven_

_yaihadla = pregnant_

_shabla = cursed_

_kandosii = excellent_

_Please R&R._


	5. Breaking the News

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Sorry for not updating last Friday. Stupid Writer's Block. That, and the past few episodes really haven't given me much inspiration either. I mean, Sky can't show up in _every_ single event of the Clone Wars, can she?_

_Knowing her, she probably could. But something tells me that she's got enough on her hands as it is..._

_Big thanks to Fidgeymugato and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

_And we'll be getting to the mission in a few, I promise.  
_

* * *

As soon as the four of them entered the apartment, little Tea came flying out of the kitchen to greet them and Fives was immediately struck with an image of a slightly older Teanna with a little toddler tagging along behind her. In his mind's eye the child was a girl and she looked _exactly_ like her mother. _But the baby could be a boy too. Won't find out for another three months. _Osik_, that's still a long time, no matter what Gabe says._

"Mama! Daddy!" When Teanna reached them, Fives scooped her up and she immediately hugged his neck as tightly as she could. The exuberant greeting his little girl was giving was close to the one she'd given him just this morning and it was enough to make him feel bad. Again. _I haven't even noticed until now how much she's grown while I've been away. I swear, she's at least three inches taller._ One of those three inches were her little montrals, which were no longer just little tiny points on the top of her head. _And her lekku are longer too._

Cade, who'd followed the little Togruta out of the kitchen, raised his brows, "How did it go, _S'ika_?"

Gabe chuckled from behind the ARC Trooper, "Very well."

The ordnance expert from Aran gave them a confused look, "Okaaay." He looked from Fives and Sky to Gabe and Deena, then back to Skylar, "Then why in the _manda_ did the _three_ of you take Sky to the medcenter for some kind of checkup if nothing's wrong?"

"You had a checkup, Mama?" Tea questioned, tilting her little head curiously like her mother did sometimes.

Sky took the little girl from Fives' arms and hugged her tightly. Fives opened his mouth, about to remind her that the medic had told her to not be lifting anything heavy. While Tea was still little for her age, she wasn't a lightweight either. He snapped his mouth shut as Skylar gave him an irritated glance. But she still set their little girl down.

"That's not until later on, F'ika," his wife said irritably.

"Later on?" Cade and Tea asked in perfect unison. Even their tone was the same. _I'm thinking that Kot's got some competition for 'favorite uncle'._

Deena nodded her head, "Yes, but I think Skylar wanted to tell all of you at the same time. Is the rest of Aran still here?"

Cade nodded, "Fidget's got Briika. And I think they're all watching the bolo-ball game." By the way the strawberry blond clone scrunched up his face, Fives could tell that the ordnance expert really wasn't into the sport even if the rest of his squad loved it. Sky had told Fives that Cade preferred cooking over sports, which had led to him being the brunt of most of his brothers' jokes. _Doesn't look like he lets it bother him, though._ "So, what's the big news, _Ori'vod_?"

Sky shook her head, a secretive smile on her face, "Oh no, you're not getting anything out of me." Cade looked to Fives and Skylar cleared her throat pointedly, "Or my husband for that matter. Not until we're all in the living room, _eleck_?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you say, Sis."

_He knows, or he's at least guessed. Sky's brothers have already been through this with Deena, I'm the only clone in this family who's never been around a pregnant woman before._ At that thought, Fives wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. _A baby. Who would have thought?_

* * *

It was at this point that Cordav really wished that her _Buir_ was still alive. _He would have loved this, just as much as he would have loved Tea and Briika. _She remembered how he used to joke that she'd give him a whole bunch of _bu'ad'ikase_. _He should be here. _More and more lately, she was wishing that they'd known about his health problems _before_ his heart had given out._ I haven't told Fives about that yet. I mean, he knows that my Papa's gone, but I never told him what happened that day, when I found _Buir_..._

Fives must have seen the sadness on her face, because his arms tightened comfortingly around her shoulders as they sat on the couch. His fingers rubbing comforting circles on her left upper arm. She met his concerned brown gaze and gave him a reassuring smile. _Now's not the time to dwell on the past. This is a _shereshoy_ day. _Buir _wouldn't want me to forget him, but he wouldn't want me to mourn for him either. Especially not today..._

Cade turned the game off, earning a couple of annoyed groans and even a few brotherly insults from his squadmates. Tea climbed up into Fives' lap, her little creamy fingers playing with her father's other hand. Sky couldn't help but smile as moments like this were few and far between, which made them that much more precious.

Deena settled in the lone recliner and Gabe parked his hoverchair beside his wife. Even though he and Wreck shared the same title, Gabriel had always been the alpha male of the Cordav siblings. Which meant that the other boys immediately shut up when the former sergeant cleared his throat.

"As much as I hate to say this, _vod'ikase_, _meshgeroya_ isn't important right now."

"Then what is?" Kendan asked, an annoyed look on his face. He ran a hand over his buzz-cut dark hair, "I don't see-"

Wreck cut him off with a look before turning his gaze to his sister, "Judging from your face, Sky, you've got something you want to tell us."

Cordav nodded, but didn't elaborate immediately, staring at nothing in particular as she tried to figure out how she was going to tell them the news.

"Could ya, like, hurry, _S'ika_? The game's in over-time and I want to miss as little of it as possible." Ken had never really been good at hiding his impatience. He had to be the most impulsive of her brothers. _Which, surprisingly, isn't always a bad thing._

Fives fixed the sniper with a glare and Sky rolled her eyes, "It's okay, he's always like that, _F'ika_. Tea?"

"Yeah, Mama?" Her daughter's dark hazel eyes met her own, "Why did you go to the doctor? Are you sick?"

Skylar shook her head, gently stroking the little girl's right lekku. _I swear she's getting bigger by the minute. _"No. I just needed to have her check something for me."

"Check what?" Wreck seemed apprehensive, "_Gedet'ye_ tell me that you're not thinking that you have heart problems like _Buir_ did." Kendan and Fidget stiffened, and Cade fixed Sky with a fearful look. _I've _never_ seen _any_ of my boys _that_ scared before._

And she was quick to reassure them, "_No_. Definitely not. In fact, it's something much better."

Aran shared confused looks, making Gabe and Deena chuckle. Sky looked to Fives and he nodded, taking the cue. Her husband turned their daughter around so that she was facing them, "Teanna, _ad'ika_, you're going to be a big sister."

* * *

Kot nodded to Doz, "I'll go call Skylar now. The sooner, the better, I guess."

Doz nodded, "If you want to take first watch over Top tonight, you'd better take a shower too, alright?"

Kot nodded, "'Kay." With that, the former trooper walked out, the door hissing shut behind him. For a full minute he just stood in the hallway, fingering the personal comlink in his belt. Sky didn't have the resources, or the knowledge for that matter, to set up secure links in her boys' buckets. But she did know the Nulls, Mereel in particular, well enough to set her own boys up with a multitude of secure codes.

He patiently waited as the comlink beeped. After several minutes, someone finally picked up. But it wasn't Sky.

_"_Cuy_, _ner vod_."_

Gabe. It wasn't unusual for him to answer his- _their_ sister's comlink, but Kot needed _her_ right then, not the former sergeant. Skylar was the only one who could calm him down when he was this worried, "Hey, _Gab'ika_, is Sky around?"

_"She is, but she and Fives are trying to talk to Tea."_ If anything, the man sounded tense.

_Trying?_ Kot didn't forget Top's predicament, but he couldn't help but to be worried about his oldest niece. Tea never ignored her family and that went double for her parents. Which meant that something must have happened. "Is everything all right, Gabe?"

Gabriel sighed, _"Teanna thinks that Fives and Sky are going to replace her."_

"Why would she think that?"

_"I'll let Sky tell you that, it's not really my place to say anything, _vod'ika_. Speaking of which, what did you want to talk to _S'ika_ about?"_

"Top's injured, we're heading back to Triple Zero right now."

Kot could practically hear the fear in Gabe's voice when the man responded, _"Is he okay?"_

He nodded, even though the older clone couldn't see him, "Sort of. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. In fact, Doz is stitching him as we speak."

_"But..."_

"But D'ika's worried about infection. It was a shrapnel wound, so..."

_"I'll let her know. Do you still want to talk to her?"_

"I can wait. I think Tea needs her more than I do right now."

Gabe was silent and Kot immediately knew that his brother was thinking of the suicide attempt. _"Don't forget that you're important too, okay?"_

Kot couldn't help but feel frustrated at that. _I'm _not _'Thirteen' anymore and I'm not gonna stoop that low again. Okay, breathe. Calm down. He's your brother and he loves you. That's all, he's not trying to make you mad. _It was just easier to get mad though as it helped him forget his worry about Top. _But it's not fair to Gabe._

"I won't, Gabe. Tell Tea that I love her, okay?"

_"Will do. _K'oyacyi_."_

* * *

_osik = crap_

_manda = heaven_

_ori'vod = big sister_

_eleck = yes_

_Buir = Papa_

_bu'ad'ikase = grandchildren_

_shereshoy = joyful, happy (basically means 'lust for life')_

_vod'ikase = little brothers_

_meshgeroya = the beautiful game (bolo-ball)_

_gedet'ye = please_

_ad'ika = little one_

_cuy = shortened form of 'Su'cuy gar' (so you're still alive)_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_k'oyacyi = stay safe_

_Please R&R._


	6. Florrum

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co.  
_

_Again, sorry for skipping last Friday._

_Big thanks to Janizary, Fidgeymugato, and Kelana-ti for reviewing!  
_

* * *

**One Week Later...**

"I still don't think you should be coming, _S'ika_."

"Maul and Oppress are _not_ going to be on Florrum. For the _last_ time, Fives, we're not going _anywhere_ near wherever they are. Or job is to find out their possible location. _Not_ to engage. I'll be _fine_," Skylar finished hotly. And Kot knew that if it had been any other clone besides Fives, the poor man would be shaking in his boots. Heck, Kot himself was too scared to move from the doorway, in case she turned her wrath upon him.

As it was, Fives was firmly standing his ground. If Kot remembered right, this was about the tenth time since they'd started the trip that the ARC Trooper had tried to persuade his pregnant wife to head back home. They were now three-quarters of the way to Florrum, and, judging by his expression, Fives was beginning to get desperate.

The former trooper still couldn't quite wrap his head around the new development. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that his adopted sister was _pregnant_. Having his brother's baby, no less. Kot had taken to Briika's existence pretty quickly, but Gabe's baby had already been almost two months old by the time he'd met her. He hadn't been around when Deena was still carrying Briika. This was completely new territory and it completely threw him for a loop. _And it's not even my kid. _Which left him wondering how he'd react to the news of his own child. _If that ever happens, of course._

Briefly, his mind drifted back to Top as he remembered why he'd even come back to the cockpit in the first place. As soon as Sky and Fives had started up their heated debate, _again_, Aran Squad had instantly vacated the immediate area, Kot right behind them. He'd just received a short message from Doz on the bald clone's condition and had decided that it was worth risking Skylar's anger to give her the update.

"That's not the point, _cyar'ika_," Fives responded to the tiny and _extremely_ irritated woman in front of him. Kot couldn't help but marvel at the calmness in the other clone's voice. Fives looked upset with his wife, if not just as mad as she was, but he was managing to keep a lid on it. Whereas Kot had never seen Cordav lose it like this with her husband. _Doz did mention that her hormones would make her moody. I just didn't realize that it would be enough to cause her to lash out like this._ Sky looked about ready to bowl her husband over.

Fives continued, not even missing a beat, "The _point_ is that, like you've said _many_ times before, sometimes missions don't go as planned. And I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you or our baby, Skylar Cordav." Kot watched with fascination at Fives' gentleness as the ARC placed both hands on his wife's shoulders. The moment felt very intimate and the commando had the feeling that he was intruding.

_I shouldn't be eavesdropping right now. I _really_ shouldn't be eavesdropping right now. I'll tell her about Top later._

He began to back up into the corridor, but Sky's head _immediately_ turned towards him. The look in her brown eyes told him that she'd _known_ that he'd been standing there the entire time, "What is it, _Kot'ika_?"

Kot cleared his throat, looking uncertainly at the couple, "I didn't mean to intrude, but Doz called about Top."

"How is he?" Skylar's face filled with worry as she turned to face him and Fives wrapped his arms around her waist from behind in an effort to comfort her. The ARC rested his hands on Sky's lower abdomen and she placed her smaller hands on top of them.

Again Kot was fascinated, but forced himself to focus and answer Cordav's question, "He's fine. On the mend, actually."

Skylar breathed a sigh of relief and Fives gave Kot a grateful look.

* * *

Little Teanna _still_ couldn't believe it.

It had taken both Mama and Daddy _forever_ to convince her that they weren't having the baby because they didn't want her anymore. That they were just as surprised as she'd been when they'd told her.

But she still couldn't help the feeling that, because this baby was _really_ their baby and she wasn't, that they'd love her brother or sister more than they loved her. Even though _both_ of her parents had promised her that it wouldn't happen like that. Mama had firmly told her that she and Daddy would love her and the baby the same. That Tea was their baby too.

_But I'm really not. Mama didn't have me like she's gonna have the baby. I'm not even _human_ like they are._

Daddy had said that it didn't matter that she was a Togruta and they weren't. Tea wanted to believe her parents, but it was hard. Especially since they were on another mission. Only a few days after telling her about the baby, they were gone again.

"Hey, _T'ika_," Uncle Hew said quietly, knocking on her doorway softly.

She lifted her head and tilted it. He smirked and held out a comlink, "Your Mama's on the link."

"Daddy too?"

Hew nodded.

The four year old jumped down from her bed and snatched the comlink from her uncle's hand. _They didn't forget about me after all!_

"Mama! Daddy! I _miss_ you!"

There was the sound of her Daddy's low chuckle and her Mama's clear laughter. "We miss you too, _ad'ika_."

"How's the baby?" Tea asked, just a little un... un-cer... un-cer-tain-ty in her voice. Okay, so the baby wasn't going to replace her. She knew that now. But she still wasn't happy about the si-tu-a-tion. _But I need to be happy for Mama. This is im... im-portant to her. And to Daddy._

The thing was, she just didn't want to share her parents with _anyone_. Not even a baby brother or sister.

* * *

Skylar, fully kitted out in her _beskar'gam_, walked down the landing ramp, Kot hovering right behind her and Fives walking in front. Aran Squad spread out in a standard protection formation, rifles held at the ready with their fingers on the trigger guards. _They sure aren't taking chances._ She rolled her eyes and activated the helmet-to-helmet com, "Fives, _ner vode_, quit hovering. Keep it up, and these Weequay might actually figure out that I'm _yaihadla_. According to intel, this group is more intelligent than the rest of their species could ever hope to be."

"No need to insult the natives, Sky," Kendan cut in playfully. "Wouldn't want them to skewer us with their wooden staves."

_And I thought Dev was the one with the bad jokes._ _At least my husband and Kot are giving me room to breathe now._

Cordav placed her hand ever so carefully on her flute as a small group of heavily armed pirates walked out of the compound to meet them. However, before the Weequays reached them, another shuttle came in for a landing beside theirs. Judging by the way the scum stood at attention as the landing ramp lowered, Sky guessed that the Weequay disembarking, the one with the monkey-lizard on his shoulder, was the boss. _Deep breath. The _Jetiise_'s reports indicated that this Ohnaka was once good friends with Jango. Wonder why Fett never mentioned him? Oh well, as long as I can convince him that I knew Jango too, we'll be in the clear._

* * *

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_ad'ika = little one_

_beskar'gam = Mandalorian armor_

_yaihadla = pregnant_

_Jetiise = Jedi (in the plural)_

_Please R&R._


	7. Fight

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Again, sorry for missing yet another update. It'll be hit and miss from here on out and I apologize for that. Busy schedule, plus I want to make sure that the story flows just right._

_Big thanks to Fidgeymugato, Kelana-ti, and purplewillowtrees for reviewing!  
_

* * *

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Fives, now standing by his wife's right side, while Kot stood to her left, fought back a knee-jerk reaction to put a hole through the pirate's forehead for even _looking_ at Skylar in that way. Sky had removed her helmet as Hondo Ohnaka approached, and the Weequay was practically leering at her.

_I'd hate to think about what he would do if there weren't so many of us clones around her._ The thought made him clench his left fist. His right hand rested on the butt of one of his blasters.

The pirate captain continued roving his eyes over Skylar's figure, completely oblivious to the deadly peril he was putting himself in, "First Kenobi, then Skywalker. Now a Death Watch warrior and a batch of clones. To what do I owe the honor?"

Sky took a step forward, "If you were really a friend of Fett's, Ohnaka, you'd know that not all Mandos in armor are part of the _Kyr'tsad_."

"You look a little young to be one of Jango's prized warriors, my dear."

Cordav rolled her brown eyes, "I wasn't. But my father was. And I worked closely with the _Mand'alor_ on Kamino."

"Really?" Ohnaka made a show of being surprised. _He's not as good of an actor as he _thinks_ he is. Too dramatic._ "From my understanding, Fett recalled a hundred men and women. Not _children_."

Skylar arched a brow, even as her eyes narrowed, "For a lowly pirate, you sure seem to know _a lot_."

"You and I both know that, in this business, information is the difference between life and death." He cast a glance at Fives, Kot, and Aran, "Quite a lot of protection for a Mando. Just who are you, anyway?"

"If you really believed information was so important, than you wouldn't have to ask for my name."

_Skylar! Why on earth does she have to say things like that?_ There was no debating it, his wife most certainly had a talent for making the bad guys mad. Fives tensed, gripping the butts of both of his pistols. Kot and Aran also shifted into more defensive positions.

But Ohnaka just laughed, "Spoken like a true Mandalorian, my dear."

"Cordav. The name's Sergeant Cordav."

"Ahh, and what business would require you to bring commandos and an ARC Trooper to my lowly home, Sergeant?" Just a hint of venom disguised in the friendliness of the Weeuay's question.

"A favor to a friend. My boys and I are here to comb over the wreckage of Maul and Oppress's ship."

"We've already picked that pile of junk clean, Cordav," Ohnaka said proudly. "You won't find a thing."

"Well, that's good. Because we're not looking for _things_. We're looking for _information_," Wreck cut in deftly. "Information on their whereabouts."

"Those two Zabraks are dead. You're wasting your time."

"My _friend_ has reason to believe that they're out there still," Sky cut Hondo off before he could say anything else.

"You mean, _Kenobi_ believes it."

"I'm more inclined to trust the General's instincts in this situation, Ohnaka. No offense."

"None taken. But it would still be best if you left, immediately. My men have been itching for another fight and, well... Mandalorian armor does sell _very_ well. Almost as well as beautiful women..."

Before Fives could even launch himself at the pirate, Skylar's red flute was flying through the air. It missed Ohnaka's face by just a hairsbreadth and embedded itself in the side of his ship, twenty feet away.

"You so much as lay a _finger_ on any one one of us, and eighty commandos, just as skilled as myself, will tear your base apart, do you understand me, Ohnaka?" There was heat in Skylar's words and a fire in her eyes. "We _are_ staying until we get what we've come for. And you _will not_ hinder us in _any_ way."

"Jango must have respected you, Cordav. Fine, you can stay until your mission is finished. On one condition, my dear."

"And that is?" Fives broke in, his tone threatening.

"Nothing to be concerned about," Ohnaka reassured, both hands held up in a gesture of peace. "My men and I are celebrating the success of our latest raid tonight. It would be an honor if you joined us."

"Until then, we'll be combing over the wreckage. Time's not on our side, I'm afraid," Kendan added.

"Very well." Hondo gave Skylar another leering look, "I look forward to celebrating with you, my dear."

Fives took a menacing step forward, but was stopped only by his wife's hand on his arm.

* * *

As soon as they were safely back on their ship, Skylar turned on Fives, "What has gotten into you, Fives?" She glared at her husband, not even casting a look at her brothers as they made themselves scarce. "You are _so_ lucky that Ohnaka and his men already had their backs turned on us. You almost gave _us_ away!"

"Sky, I-"

"Don't you realize that Ohnaka is an opportunist? If he knew that a Republic sergeant was in a relationship with one of the men in her command... He would have sold that intel to the highest bidder! And then I'd never..." She hugged herself, her voice dropping to no more than a whisper, "And then I'd never see you again, _cyar'ika_."

Fives came forward and tried to wrap his arms around her, but she pulled out of his embrace. "I know, Sky," he sighed, looking dejected. And then he angrily clenched his fists, "But how do you expect me to just stand by when that scum looks at you like that? Like you're just another possession he wants, that he'll use. You're my _wife_, and no man is going to treat you like that. Not as long as I'm breathing."

"I can take care of myself, ARC Trooper! You _know_ that!" Inwardly, she cringed as she yelled at him. _I shouldn't have done that. But how can he just expect me to stand by and let him do something like that? I _won't_ let him be taken from me. I don't know what I'd do if..._ Her husband stumbled back as if she'd decked him, hurt at her words apparent on his face. And she felt even more guilty as tears ran down her face.

"_F'ika_, I'm sorry. I-"

"I get it." With that, he turned and angrily stalked off.

Cordav sank to the floor, sobbing. _I _never_ should have yelled at him. I _know_ how protective he is of me. Should I have expected anything less? No, he's my husband and he was only acting like that because he loves me. I'm the worst wife in the entire galaxy. _Osik_, how could I be so _di'kutla_?_

Several minutes later she heard booted feet coming back down the corridor. Skylar picked her head up hopefully, thinking it was Fives. But the rhythym of the steps was off. Kot.

"Sky? Is everything-? Sky!" he rushed forward and crouched in front of her, his face concerned. "Are you okay? It's not the baby, is it?"

She shook her head and furiously wiped her tears away, "No, the baby's fine, _Kot'ika_. Fives and I..."

"Had another fight. He looked pretty pissed when he came through the galley. Did he do anything to you?"

The Mando woman shook her head, "No. I... I s-said something h-hurtful. S-something I shouldn't h-have."

Kot pulled her into his strong arms and she rested her head under his chin, "_Udesii_, Sky. I'm sure he'll forgive you. He just needs to blow off some steam. Everything will be fine. It'll be okay."

_Oh, the irony. I spent most of the past few months comforting Kot. Look how the tables have turned._ The only difference was that the situation that had caused her newest brother to slip into depression all those months ago hadn't been his fault.

_I got myself into this. It's time to stop crying and _fix_ it._

* * *

Fives had stormed past the boys in the galley, making a beeline for the quarters he shared with his wife. He really wanted to punch _something_, but, unfortunately, there really wasn't anything to punch. Besides the walls. And he really didn't want to be dealing with an injured hand while they were still surrounded by semi-hostile pirates.

The door closed behind him and he flopped onto the bed, stretching out on his back. _I pushed her too hard. _What his wife had said was true. He _knew_ that she could take care of herself. Sky had proved so _many_ times before. But the way she'd said it... It made him feel like she didn't _want_ him to protect her. And that _hurt_. Skylar was his reason for breathing. The very fact that the woman he _loved_ didn't want him looking out for her... The pain was worse than being shot. And he'd masked it with anger. He'd come _so_ close to lashing out at her. What scared the ARC was that, if he hadn't marched away, he probably would have.

_It's not supposed to be like this. We love each other, we shouldn't be fighting._

There was a knock on the door. Fives opened it, his face falling as he met Wreck's gaze. He plopped back onto the bed, ignoring the sergeant as the older clone leaned against the doorway.

"You wanna tell me what happened, _vod'ika_?"

"Not really. But I guess you're not going to give me the choice."

"Darn straight I won't."

Fives glared at Wreck, but the other man just met his gaze calmly. "Lemme guess. The two of you finally had yourselves a real shouting match, huh?"

The younger man looked away, "You could say that."

"And you stormed off."

Fives continued to refuse to meet Wreck's eyes, "She told me that she could protect herself. Wreck, I'm her husband. Isn't protecting her _my_ job?"

"You're thinking like an _aruetii_. That isn't how it works with Mandos. The two of you are equal. She can look after herself. You can look after yourself." Aran's sergeant held up a hand as Fives' opened his mouth to object. "But what neither of you understand yet is that it is _both_ of your jobs to look out for _each other_."

"How would you know this, Wreck? You've never been married before."

"You sure about that?"

Fives jolted upright, eyes wide. "You? Really?"

"Yeah," Wreck sighed, sitting beside him. "Her name was Kenna. When I met her, she was a real spitfire and almost as proud as Sky."

"What happened?"

"I smothered her. Too much. We had a huge fight, bigger than the one you just had with Sky."

"How would you know-"

"The two of you were only going at it for two minutes, Kenna and I argued for almost an hour. I said things that I should _never_ have said to _anyone_. I was just so mad, so _upset_, because I thought that she was shrugging me off. When, in reality, she was just trying to be herself. She was six months pregnant."

"Was?" Before he even asked the question, Fives had an overwhelming sense of foreboding.

Wreck hung his head, "I upset her so much that the stress caused her body to go into early labor. The baby lived, but he was three months early. He spent _months_ in the medcenter. And I was so ashamed of myself that I never visited him _once_. My own son. He's a year old now and I don't even know what he looks like. Kenna left me two weeks after he was born."

That just made Fives feel even more like a _shabuir_. _I could have done that to Sky. But our baby wouldn't have lived..._ "I'm sorry, Wreck. Have you tried calling them?"

"I wouldn't know what to say, Fives. I've already messed up their lives. Griff has health problems from being born prematurely and Kenna's struggling to be a single mom. I've kept an eye on them, but they don't need me back in their lives. I'll only make it worse."

"I'm not sure. I mean, I don't think things will be the same as they were, but you love them, right?"

"Yeah, just as much as you love your girls."

Fives squeezed the sergeant's shoulder, "Try calling her, _ner vod_. I've got to go apologize to my woman."

* * *

_Kyr'tsad = Death Watch_

_Mand'alor = Chieftain of chieftains_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_osik = crap_

_di'kutla = stupid_

_udesii = Easy, calm down_

_aruetii = outsider, non-Mandalorian_

_shabuir = bastard_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_Please R&R._


	8. Escape Pod

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Just wanted to let you know that this little mission is taking place before the Youngling arc. Just in case you wonderful readers were wondering. :)_

_Big thanks to Amaris the demon of Mortis, purplewillowtrees, Jasmin Kenobi, Tahiri Veila Solo, spikala, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

* * *

It was late evening and Kenna had just walked in the door to her apartment. Exhausted after a long day at work, she slipped out of her shoes and dropped her bag beside them. All she wanted was something hot to eat and some time with her baby. _It's hard to believe that Griff's already a year old._

_Wreck should be here, he should be greeting me with our son._

She still loved the commando, she'd even occasionally considered calling him. But the fact that he'd _refused_ to visit their baby after he was born, when the medics had still been uncertain if Griff would make it or not... _I don't think I could handle that. If he leaves again... Worse, if he doesn't want anything to do with us._ That was the only thing she could think of that would explain why Wreck had never visited her since she'd divorced him the Mando way. _He hasn't even called..._

"Mama! Mama!"

Kenna managed a bright smile for her one-year-old as Griff crawled as fast as he could towards her. Since he'd been born prematurely, Griff was slower to develop than most children. And he had asthma too. They'd spent several days of the past month in the emergency ward of the medcenter because of his weak lungs. And the bills were still piling up...

The Kiffar woman leaned down and pulled her son close to him, hugging him tightly, "Hey, baby boy. Mama missed you too."

"He was pulling himself up again today," Tessa said from the doorway to the den. "I'd say another month or two and he might actually be walking."

Kenna smiled halfheartedly at her aunt, "One can only hope. Thanks for watching him today, Tess. Do you mind keeping him again tomorrow? His babysitter's still sick."

"I wouldn't mind taking over for Heather," the older Kiffar woman said with a smile. "That way, you won't have to pay the babysitter and you'll have more money for Griff's health bills."

"Yeah," she answered distractedly, her focus on her son's face. Little Griff's soft hair was the same deep red that hers was, his skin the same olive tone. Even his eyes were the same pale green as hers. But his features... Those were all Wreck. _He may look like me, but Griff is _definitely_ his father's son._ And that thought hurt. Even after all this time, she still thought of Wreck as _her_ commando. She was still torn between her _need_ for him and the mistrust she still harbored because of his actions a year ago.

"You've been thinking about _him_ again."

"Who?" Kenna kept her eyes trained on her son, who was babbling away like he was telling her about his day. The only discernible words were 'Mama' and the heartbreaking 'Dada'. That was one thing she didn't look forward to. When her son was finally old enough to ask why 'Dada' wasn't around. _My fault that he even knows the word. I _should not_ have kept that picture of Wreck where Griff can see it._ Little Griff, being just a baby, was naturally curious about everything. A month ago, he'd become infatuated with Kenna's beloved flatpix of his father, taken by Kenna herself when she was five months pregnant, and she'd made the mistake of telling him that it was 'Dada'.

Tessa raised her brows, distorting her dark green facial tattoo. Kenna, being Kiffar as well, had her own facial tattoo, the same color, but a single line slanted across her left eye instead of her aunt's two straight lines. "You _know_ who I mean. Wreck. I _still_ think you were too hard on him. I could see that he felt _terrible_-"

"Can we not talk about Aran's sergeant, Tess? _Please_? I've already had a bad day at work, the last thing I want to do is come home and talk about that... that... _homewrecker_."

Tessa snorted, rolling her eyes, "Everyone makes mistakes, Kenna. You're forgetting that Wreck knew _nothing_ about relationships until he met you. You'd already been through what... five guys?"

"Tessa! I don't want to have this discussion, you _know_ I'll start yelling and I _don't_ want to upset Griff."

"Okay, just consider what I've said."

"I'll think about it, but don't expect-" and then her comlink went off. A certain tone she hadn't heard in a year. _Wreck. Of all times, why now?_ Judging from her aunt's expression, she remembered who the tone belonged to as well.

"Just give him a chance, Kenna." The older woman kissed her cheek and walked out the apartment door, leaving Kenna alone with a squirming Griff.

Trying to decide whether or not she should answer Wreck's call.

* * *

Wreck had left, leaving the door wide open. It had been fifteen minutes since the sergeant had headed to his quarters. And Fives couldn't bring himself to get up and just shut the door, he had too much on his mind. _How in the _manda_ am I going to make this right with Sky?_

"_F'ika_?" He turned and saw his wife standing in the doorway. Eyes red and puffy and her posture practically screaming uncertainty. _I did that to her. I am such a _di'kut_._

He sat up and opened his arms wide, "Come here, _cyar'ika_." To his relief, she settled herself on his lap.

"Fives, sweetheart, I'm _sorry_. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have _yelled_ at you-"

He shook his head as he tightened his hold on her, "No, _S'ika_. _I'm _sorry. I shouldn't have walked out on you like that. I _know_ you can protect yourself. I didn't mean to smother you. I love you and I can't-"

"Lose me. I know, babe, I know. I feel the same way about you. That's all I was trying to say, but I lost control of my temper. I'm really sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for. Can you forgive me?"

Sky leaned up and kissed him strongly, "Does that answer your question?"

"Uh-huh," he answered breathlessly, leaning down to lock his lips with hers again. His fingers sliding down to caress her armored belly. _Only two more months before she starts to show._ The thought made him almost giddy. It was a weird feeling for an ARC Trooper. _But a good one._

And, of course, there was the sound of someone clearing his throat. Fives looked up and gave Kot an irritated glare. The former trooper gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry, but Aran's already out at the wreckage. We need to get out there too before those _hut'uunla_ pirates start getting suspicious."

Sky nodded, hopping up from Fives' embrace. She pulled her helmet off her belt and slid it on. Fives followed suit and the three of them headed out to the remains of Maul and Oppress' ship.

* * *

Kot couldn't help but notice that something was off about Wreck. True, the man wasn't a member of his squad and the former trooper couldn't read him as well as he could read Hew, but Kot could clearly see that Aran's sergeant was hurting. Not physically. Emotionally. And Kot was well-versed in that department. He still woke from nightmares of losing his squadron. "Everything alright, _Ruus'alor_?"

Wreck looked up from an instrument panel he was investigating, meeting Kot's gaze from the other side of the cargo compartment. It was just the two of them, the rest of the team had split up. The other three members of Aran were going over the cockpit and Fives and Sky were checking the escape pods.

The bronze-haired man's expression turned thoughtful for a second. And then he shook his head, turning his focus back to his task, "Just got a lot on my mind, _vod'ika_. And don't call me _Ruus'alor_, okay? That's Sky, not me."

"Sorry." There was silence as Wreck moved to another instrument panel and Kot checked out the contents of the crates. So far, all empty, already plundered by the pirates. The silence wasn't awkward really, but it was still uncomfortable to the newest member of Beta. He was used to chatter. Most of that came from Doz, but Top and Hew contributed as well. Aran was a different squad altogether. They did talk with each other, joked around even, but they were a quieter group of men. More than once, Kot had caught the four of them sitting quietly together, enjoying the peace.

Whereas, for Kot, absolute silence drove him _crazy_. His mind would start to wander, drift toward Watt and Lark and his other brothers... He shook his head, "Do you want to talk about it, _ner vod_?"

"Doz has been rubbing off on you, hasn't he? You haven't been quiet _once_ since Skylar paired us up."

Kot chose to ignore that, "So, are you gonna tell me or what?"

Wreck shook his head, "Not now, Kot. It's a long story. Later, okay?" The man took out his comlink, looked at it wistfully, then stuck it back into the pouch at his belt. If anything, Kot thought he detected hints of sorrow and regret in his brother's gaze.

"_Vod'e_! Come quick!"

The sound of Cordav's excited shout had both men running full tilt to the escape pods. Within seconds, Kot could see the rest of Aran following them thanks to the 360 in his HUD.

A minute later, the five of them stopped short at the sight of Skylar and Fives examining a pod bay. An _empty_ pod bay. _The Zabraks must have fled right before the ship crashed. That means the two of them are still alive..._

Judging from the looks on the couple's faces, they'd removed their helmets again, the two of them were thinking the same thing.

Kot was about to swear in irritation, but stopped as something caught his eye. An instrument panel had been crushed, but not from the crash. Kot knew damage inflicted by a Force-user when he saw it.

_They didn't want anyone to follow them..._

* * *

_manda = heaven_

_di'kut = idiot, moron_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_hut'uunla = cowardly_

_Ruus'alor = sergeant_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_vod'e = brothers  
_

_Please R&R._


	9. Five Seconds

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to Depthcharge2030, Kelana-ti, Janizary, Amaris the demon of Mortis, spikala, Emjalen, Delta808th for reviewing!  
_

_A virtual cookie to whoever can tell me what famous Star Wars ship is also a YT-1300. :)  
_

* * *

Fives was examining the crushed instrument panel when he noticed Skylar stiffening in his peripheral view. He turned his helmeted head towards his wife just as she cocked hers, apparently listening to something.

"What's up, _S'ika_?" That was Kendan. Aran's sniper moved closer to Sky, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Someone's trying to break into our ship," she responded, sounding distracted.

"And you would know that because...?" Fives asked moving closer to his wife.

"I took the liberty of syncing the YT's perimeter alarms with my _buy'ce_."

Cade cleared his throat, "You think it's the pirates?"

Wreck shook his head, "No. Ohnaka's different from other pirates."

Kot nodded his head, "Yeah, according to all the intel we've got on him, he makes a habit of honoring his agreements."

Fidget fidgeted. _So that's where he got his name from. _"Doesn't matter _who_ it is," the medic spoke up. "Pirates or no, if we don't get our _shebse_ in gear, whoever it is is gonna get a hold of the ship's memory banks. And even though there's only the bare minimum of Republic intel in there, it's still enough for them to do serious damage with."

Sky nodded and lead the way out.

And that was when everything went to _haran_.

This was not the first time that Fives had faced a dark Jedi. But it would be the first time he'd faced _two_ at the same time. When he realized that Sky would reach the two Dathomirian brothers first, he panicked, running as fast as he could to her aid.

But he wasn't fast enough.

Maul's red lightsaber cut an arc through the air and hit Skylar's neck, glancing off her _beskar_ collar. Even though the lightsaber only succeeded in burning the paint off, the blow was hard enough to knock the woman off her feet. Sky lay were she landed, sprawled out on the ground.

_No! No, no, no! _"SKYLAR!" Fives screamed, not caring that the two Force-sensitives would pick up on the fear in his voice. His helmet's HUD told him that his wife's vitals were fine, but that didn't mean much. She could be injured internally. _And the baby..._ Fives' gut clenched in terror as he picked up his pace.

Fidget and Cade were the next to reach the two. Both were cut down instantly.

Kot came on their brother's heels and Oppress's lightsaber cleaved right through the former trooper's left forearm. Kot screeched, an inhuman sound that made Fives' blood turn to ice.

Fives, Wreck barreling along beside him, prepared himself to die in defense of the woman he loved more than his own life. Just before the two clones reached the two Sith, there was the sound of a blaster going off and Maul screamed in pain, one of his cybernetic legs buckling beneath him. The cyborg turned and ran toward the other closest transport, one belonging to the pirates. Oppress following behind him and blocking Wreck and Fives' fire. One of the blocked shots ricocheted back and hit Kendan square in the faceplate. Ken fell, dead before he hit the ground.

Fives reached Sky's side at the exact same moment that Wreck knelt next to a writhing Kot. The stolen pirate ship took off, it's occupants not even bothering to waste their cannon fire on the four survivors.

But the ARC's mind wasn't on that. His wife had dropped her blaster and was trying to pull herself up. He braced her back with his left arm, pulling off his helmet with his right before removing hers. Skylar's brown eyes met his gaze, but he couldn't help but notice that she seemed disoriented. _Must have hit her head when she fell. _"You okay, _cyar'ika_?"

"I'm fine, Fives. Other than the fact that my _osikla_ head is killing me."

Relief flooded his body, but the ARC held up three fingers just to make sure, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three. Is that really necessary?"

Fives sighed shakily in relief and bent to kiss her, but she squirmed in his grip. "What about the boys? Are they okay?"

There was no way to sugar-coat it. And Fives wasn't even going to try. "Wreck and Kot are the only ones who made it. Kot's injured."

Sky froze and Fives feared for a moment that she was going to pass out on him, "How bad?"

"Oppress amputated half of his forearm, Wreck's seeing to him." Just as he said that, there was another inhuman screech of pain from Beta's weapons expert. Sky pulled herself to her feet and Fives followed suit, following close enough to catch her should she lose her balance.

She knelt at Kot's injured side, trading a look with Wreck, who'd also removed his own helmet. The sergeant traded a weary look with her as Fives settled on Kot's uninjured side, grabbing the commando's hand for comfort. Kot gripped him so hard that the ARC was sure that he would lose all the feeling in his hand, but he could care less.

_Five seconds. That's all it took. And now we've lost three more brothers._

"How bad, Wreck?" Sky asked, her voice shaky. Kot moaned in pain as his eyes turned glassy and Fives doubted that he was even aware of what was going on anymore.

"Well, the lightsaber cauterized the wound, so we won't have to worry about him bleeding out. The thing is, that the _shabla _thing also melted his bodysuit and armor to his skin. We've got to remove them before I can bandage his arm."

All three winced as Kot moaned again and Fives met Wreck's gaze, "Have you given him any painkillers yet?"

Wreck ran a hand through his bronze curls, "I loaded him full with as many sharps as I could without killing him. That's why he's so out of it now."

Skylar gulped, "Wreck, you hold him down. Fives, _cyar'ika_, I need you to brace his arm f-for me."

* * *

Before she turned her attention to her newest brother's stub of an arm, Skylar motioned for her husband and Wreck to help her remove the rest of Kot's armor that wasn't melded to his injury. _That will at least make it easier to pull the melted stuff off._ Her gut clenched and her stomach felt nauseous at the thought of what she was about to do. _Can't get Mama sick now, _ad'ika_. Your _ba'vodu_'s relying on me to stay focused._

As soon as the other plates were off her brother and piled haphazardly to the side, she nodded to Wreck who laid himself on top of their brother, using his body weight to keep him pinned. Fives gripped Kot's left arm with both hands, his right holding the upper arm, his left bracing the forearm right above the injury.

"Ready when you are, sweetie," her husband said as reassuringly as he could manage.

She nodded, leaning over her man's arms to kiss Kot's forehead, "I'm sorry, _vod'ika_. I'll go as fast as possible, I promise."

* * *

Kot's screams as Skylar peeled back the melted armor would forever be melded into Fives' memory. He'd never seen a brother suffer an injury that extreme. All of the brothers he'd known to be hit by lightsaber had all died instantly. _Poor Kot. At least he's out now._ Beta's weapon expert had fainted halfway through the ordeal, thankfully.

As soon as what was left of Kot's arm had been bandaged, Fives and Wreck had turned their attention towards their fallen brothers as Sky curled up on Kot's uninjured side, her head resting on his chest. _Probably so she can soothe him once he snaps out of it. He's bound to be disoriented when he wakes up._

Several times, Fives had tried, and failed, to get Wreck to talk as they loaded his brothers bodies into the large conservator aboard the YT-1300. The same conservator that Tor Squad had brought Devrin home in. But the sergeant wasn't having it. As soon as Cade, Kendan, and Fidget were laid up in the conservator, merely looking like they were sleeping peacefully, the sergeant had taken off to the quarters he had recently shared with Cade. Comlink in hand. _I hope he's calling Kenna. He needs her right now._

All thought of his brother's needs flew out the window when Fives stepped off the loading ramp. Sky was standing protectively in front of Kot's prone figure, holding her blaster pistol in the safety position. Ohnaka was back.

* * *

Thanks to her HUD 360 display, Skylar was aware of her husband coming up behind, drawing one of his own pistols. But she kept her focus on Ohnaka and his entourage, "What do you want, Hondo?"

"You let them get away with my ship, Cordav. I want compensation for that."

"_I_ let them?!" That was it! She'd _just_ lost three more brothers and a fourth lay injured on the ground behind her. _And this _dikutla_ Weequay's demanding payment for something that wasn't even our fault?! Of all the _aruetyc_ things to do, this is the worst!_

Cordav about lunged at him, but her husband's hand on her shoulder kept her in place. If Cade, Kendan, and Fidget weren't dead, she would have found the situation somewhat funny. But it wasn't without them.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was still on the pirates' territory and that she had to play nice. Or none of them would be making it back to Triple Zero alive.

"Fine," she said curtly. "I have an extra suit of Mando armor aboard our transport. It's worth more than that _osikla_ ship of yours could ever hope to be. It'll also serve as an apology. I'm not going to make it to your little 'party'. I have brothers to bury."

For once, Ohnaka seemed to have run out of things to say. The revelation that _anyone_ would view clones as family seemed to have come as a surprise to him. Skylar was beyond caring what he thought. She just wanted to get off this _dar'yaim_.

"Sounds fair. On one condition."

Both Fives and Skylar bristled. "And that is?" Fives asked, his voice deadly.

"You," he pointed at her, "and your boys don't come back here. Ever. You're more trouble than you're worth."

"Wouldn't have it any other way. First things first, though. I want my flute back."

* * *

_buy'ce = helmet_

_haran = hell_

_shebse = backsides_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_osikla = crappy_

_shabla = cursed_

_ad'ika = little one_

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_di'kutla = idiotic_

_aruetyc = foreign, outside (not Mandalorian)_

_dar'yaim = dead world  
_

_Please R&R._


	10. Mundane

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co.  
_

_Big thanks to ZabuzasGirl, Delta808th, Kelana-ti, Amaris the demon of Mortis, spikala, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

___And the answer to last chapter's question was the Millenium Falcon, in case you were wondering. :) Kudos to spikala and Janizary._

* * *

Kenna had just put Griff to bed for the night and was listening to the message Wreck had left earlier, as she hadn't had the courage to answer. In the message he was telling her how sorry he was, both to her and their son. Wreck had sad that he didn't deserve her forgiveness. _Darn right._ But he'd pleaded for her to give him a second chance. _Why should I? You walked out when we needed you the most, Wreck. Why should you get to 'try again'._

She was about to throw the comlink away from her when she got another incoming call from the sergeant. Kenna hesitated too long and the comlink quit ringing. It beeped a minute later, letting her know that Wreck had left another message.

She listened to it, but this time her reaction was different. The sorrow and desperation in Wreck's voice as he told her that he'd just lost his _entire_ squad was enough to break her heart. _Fidget, Cade, and Kendan._ Sweethearts, all three of them. She remembered the first day she'd met them. Ken's shameless flirting with her had caused Wreck to finally make a move. He'd asked her out that very moment, shocking his brothers. They'd figured she'd pick Kendan, not their sergeant. _But I've only ever had eyes for Wreck. Even now, after everything..._

And now the poor man didn't have anyone left. _Besides his sister, myself, and Griff._ Yeah, he had his other brothers, the rest of the Cordav boys, but Skylar was the only family outside of his squad that he saw on a regular basis. And Kenna herself had been his wife. Emphasis on _had._

All of this went through the Kiffar woman's mind as she listened to Wreck amble on aimlessly, trying to distract himself from his grief.

His last words in the message were what finally tore her heart out.

_"Kenny, I know you're still mad at me. Force knows I messed up. And I'm _sorry_. You don't need to forgive me, but, please, call me back. _Gedet'ye_. I n-need..."_ he trailed off, taking a deep breath. It sounded more like a sob to her. _"I just need to h-hear your voice, Kenna. Please."_

She almost called him back right then. The comlink rattled in her grip, her hands shaking so hard at the thought of talking to him after a full year.

_It's been too long, he needs to move on._ That was her rationality speaking. But her heart told her different. Right then, it didn't matter the past. He needed her. But she wasn't sentimental enough to let things get out of hand. They'd never have what they used to, he hadn't earned the right. But she could still be there for him, and only as a friend. Nothing more. _My heart can't take more than that._

* * *

Kot opened his eyes, not recognizing where he was at. He went to stretch out his left hand to flip the light on, but panicked when he found that he couldn't move the limb. He looked down to see that what was left of his arm was bound to his torso, and the sight of his injured limb brought it all back. The fact that Skylar was nestled against his uninjured side, her head on his chest and sleeping peacefully, was the only thing that kept him calm. _She's okay. I hope nothing happened to the baby... Calm down, Kot. If the baby was in danger, do you really think that Fives would leave her side? _F'ika_ must be with Wreck._

And then the rest of what happened hit him again. He winced. _Poor, poor Wreck._ Kot knew all too well what it felt like to be the last man.

His gaze turned back to the stub of his left arm. It was throbbing, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. _They must have drugged me._ He remembered all too well how painful having melted armor removed was. But he didn't remember them bandaging his arm. Or moving him to the quarters he'd once shared with Fidget and Kendan.

Skylar's comlink went off and she shifted, but he reached with his uninjured arm and plucked it off the bedside table. It wasn't a ring he recognized, but he figured there was no harm in answering anyway. Kept his mind distracted from the recent horrors they'd just been through.

"Hello?"

_"Who is this?"_ a female's voice asked suspiciously. _"Are you one of Sky's boys?"_

"Yes, ma'am," he answered automatically. Skylar pulled herself up and looked at him questioningly. 'Who is it?' she mouthed.

He shrugged his shoulders, wincing as his injury protested at the rough movement. _Mental note: Don't do that again._ He rephrased Sky's question, "How do you know Sergeant Cordav?"

The woman paused, probably caught off guard by the protective note in his voice. _"Is she there? If she is, tell her that Kenna needs to talk to her." _Kot mouthed the name to Sky and she motioned for him to put the comm on speaker.

"Kenna? What in the _manda_? I thought you made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with us?"

_"Wreck called me. He told me that Fidge, Ken, and Cay are dead."_

"You talked with him?" their was a note of incredulity in his sister's voice. _I wonder why that is?_

_"Of course not. You know why. What he did to me and Griff."_ Kot _really_ wanted to ask who Griff was and what Wreck did to the two of them, but decided the best thing for him to do at the moment was to keep his mouth shut. The suspicion in Kenna's voice when she'd talked with him told him that his input wouldn't be welcomed. And Sky was already stressed as it was, he didn't want to make it worse for her.

Skylar seemed frustrated with the other woman, "You gave up on him too easily. I _told_ you that he just needed time. Wreck was _scared_, Kenna. He didn't know what to do."

_"That's no excuse, Cordav, and you know it!" _Kenna yelled back.

And Kot had had enough, "I don't care who did what, ma'am. You're upsetting my sister when she's already been through enough. If you cause her to miscarry..." he trailed off, his voice full of implications.

Skylar rolled her eyes, "Great, thanks, _Kot'ika_."

_"Miscarry? You're pregnant, Sky?!"_

Said woman glared at Kot as she answered, "Yes, but you can't breath a word to anyone. I've still got to tell General Zey. But we're not talking about me. We're talking about Wreck. If you really want to see how he is, we'll be at Corellia in two days around noon, Corellia time. The field where Wreck took you that one time."

_"Okay, I'll think about it." _Kenna paused, hesitating, _"Don't tell him that we talked. I don't want to upset him further if I can't come."_

"Sounds fair to me," Sky said gently. "Give Griff a hug from his _ba'vodu_, okay?"

_"Alright."_ And the link went dead.

"_S'ika_, who's Kenna and Griff? And what did Wreck do?"

"Kenna is Wreck's ex-wife and Griff is his son. As to what happened, that's up to him to tell you. How's the arm, _vod'ika_?" she asked, her gaze turning sympathetic.

* * *

Sky watched sorrowfully as her brother turned his gaze to said limb. _I wasn't prepared. I was so _sure_ that those _Siitse_ were already lightyears away that I didn't even consider that they might still have been on the planet. And my boys paid the price..._ She leaned over and kissed his temple, "I'm _so_ sorry, this is all my-"

Kot leveled her with a glare that he could have learned only from her, "It's not your fault, _ori'vod_. Don't think like that, it's not good for you _or_ the baby. Speaking of which, is it okay?"

Cordav had been about to argue with him, but she was caught of guard by his concern for her child. She'd _just_ told him only a week ago and he was already so attached to the little one. She placed a hand on her belly, "I _think_ so. I mean, I haven't been in pain, so I'm pretty sure I haven't miscarried. When we get to Corellia, I'll get checked out. Just to make sure."

"You do that," the commanding phrase was softened by his smile. Followed quickly by a yawn, and he laid his head back.

Sky could tell that he was having trouble keeping his eyes opened. She ruffled his hair gently, "Get some sleep, baby brother."

Kot managed to give her a withering glare which actually made her laugh out loud. Not many could achieve that when she was grieving.

"I'll be back in to check on you in a little bit, okay?" She might as well have said that to thin air, Kot was already out.

As Kot's door closed behind her, she felt a few tears run down her cheeks and her shoulders began to shake with silent sobs.

"C'mon, _cyar'ika_," Fives voice broke through her thoughts and he picked her up in his arms.

"I c-can't, Fives. Wreck-"

"I'm fine, _S'ika_," her bronze-haired brother spoke up quietly over her husband's shoulder. The tortured quality to his voice made her wince.

"_Vod'ika_, I'm sorry, if I had been more prepared-"

He moved to Fives' side where he could easily stroke her cheek, "And you wonder where Jinx gets it from." Wreck's expression was firm, "_Ori'vod_, it was _their_ fault. Not yours. And don't worry about me, I'll be keeping _Kot'ika_ company." He kissed her cheek, "Get some rest. For you _and_ the baby, okay?"

* * *

Fives set Skylar on the bed and, at her direction, pulled her fatigues out of her pack. Ignoring her protests, he began removing her dusty armor plates, piling them neatly in the corner.

He'd begun to remove her flightsuit, but her hands on his wrists stopped him, "I can change my own clothes, love." Her loving gaze took his breath away. "Besides, you still need to get out of your own armor," she said softly, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his.

He didn't want to pull away. But she was right. _She'll kill me if I get dust on her clean sheets._ He smirked at the irony. They were far from the average family but they still managed to have almost mundane moments like this.

_I can't wait until we get home. I need to see Tea again._

* * *

_gedet'ye = please_

_manda = heaven_

_ba'vodu = aunt_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_Siitse = Sith (in the plural)_

_ori'vod = big sister_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_Please R&R._


	11. Remember

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_It was brought to my attention that chapter 10 needs some work. As this is Christmas week, I won't be able to get to it soon, but it will be fixed._

_Big thanks to Amaris the demon of Mortis, Kelana-ti, Delta808th, and spikala for reviewing!  
_

_Merry Christmas everyone! God bless!_

* * *

It was around 1800 Corellia time and Kenna felt like a complete idiot. She was _way_ late, but she knew the Cordav clan's habits. Wreck had explained every dynamic of his family life. The last time she'd been out there, she'd been with Wreck. The commando had been all nerves and had ended up babbling on about how the field had been in the Cordav clan since the Mandalorian Wars and had explained his family's rituals for funerals and stuff like that. It was safe to say that Wreck had a habit of talking _way_ too much if he was uncomfortable. It wasn't until he'd proposed to her later on that evening that she'd understood why he'd been so nervous.

She shook her head, trying desperately to derail her train of thought. _Now is _not_ the time to go on a trip down memory lane, Kenna Trivolo. Focus. You're only here because... _Why_ am I here?_ It was a question she'd frequently asked herself since she'd first decided to come. _I'm here because I'm a stupid little girl who still can't get over a ridiculous, hurtful crush._ Even that answer didn't feel right to her. _It's because I'm an idiot. I can't help but run right back into the reach of the man who practically destroyed my life and Griff's._

If she was being truthful with herself, the answer was because she _still_ loved Wreck. _And that is why I am the queen of idiots._

Too late. She was at the field. And one woman and three clones ten meters in front of her were staring at the tinted windshield of her speeder, one of them reaching for one of his twin blasters. _Here goes nothing._..

Kenna took a deep breath and stepped out the pilot side door, the wind whipping her dark red hair back out of her face. She couldn't help but notice how the breeze smelled like smoke. _They must have already cremated the boys_, she thought sadly. Skylar's face lit up slightly with a somber smile and the smaller woman gave her a nod before grabbing the elbows of the two clones that the Kiffar woman didn't recognize, pulling them back so that she and Wreck could have some privacy. Kenna couldn't help but notice that one of the two was missing most of his left forearm, the stub wrapped firmly in a white bandage and held to his chest by a sling. _Battle scar. Poor fellow. _Her heart instantly felt for him and she wondered if he was the clone she'd talked with the other day.

She watched with fascination as the clone with the number 5 tattooed on his forehead, the one who'd reached for his pistol when she'd pulled up, gently pulled his forearm out of his sergeant's grasp, linking his fingers with hers instead. _That must be Sky's husband. And the father of her baby..._ Kenna still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the small fiery woman was actually _pregnant_.

"Kenny?" Wreck breathed, disbelief coloring his voice. Her green gaze met his brown eyes and she saw the shock in them. _His sister didn't tell him that I called then._ And then he smiled. That same broad, happy smile he'd given her when she'd told him _yes_. _It's like he doesn't even remember what he did to me..._

And immediately she was beyond furious. So furious that it didn't even register to her that she'd slapped him until she pulled her stinging hand back. She noted with deep satisfaction that she'd left a nice red welt in the shape of her hand on his right cheek.

Wreck stumbled backward a few paces, hurt clear on his face. And that only fueled her anger, "How _dare_ you act like nothing's happened! How _dare_ you act so _hurt_ over a little slap! For a year, an _entire_ _year_, Wreck, you've hurt _me_! Every _single_ day you've _broken_ my heart! I'm not here to rekindle what we had. I'm here because I'm not going to leave when you need me." Kenna had chosen those words because she'd _known_ that they'd hurt. Her expression turned sympathetic, if only just, "And I'm sorry about your brothers. I'll miss 'em too," she finished, offering him her hand.

He took it, not meeting her eyes. And, more importantly, not moving closer. _Thank goodness. I'd hate to find out what else I might do to the poor man today. _Poor man? _There's nothing 'poor' about him. He _left_. _He_ made that choice. _But there was something inside of her that greatly enjoyed the feel of his hand in hers...

Wreck sighed heavily and she noticed that his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, "Thanks, Kenna. I take it this means that I'm never going to meet our son then..." he trailed off, still not meeting her gaze. And she immediately hated herself. _What _is_ it about him? After all he's done to me, how can he still turn me into a puddle of Sullustan jam so easily?_

"No, Wreck." Kenna shook her head, hating how his shoulders slumped at her words. "Wreck, that's not what I meant." He turned his big brown eyes to her face again, his expression hopeful this time. "I... I didn't want him here right now. I didn't know how I'd react to seeing you after... well, I just didn't want to chance Griff seeing Mama and Dada fight."

"Dada?" he perked up, picking up on the fact that she'd used that title instead of the more impersonal 'father'. He _knows_ who I am?" This time, the bronze-haired man's voice was filled with wonder. "You've actually _told_ him about me?"

Some part of Kenna was telling her how _idiotic_ she was for even telling him this. _He doesn't deserve to know._ But she found herself nodding as her idiotic mouth betrayed her anyway, "Yes. 'Dada' is his favorite word, actually." _I really am a moron._ An idiotic one at that.

* * *

Later on that night, Fives eased himself onto the sofa of the hotel suite. They were leaving for Coruscant in the morning and he was seriously looking forward to returning home. He just didn't relish the idea of telling Tea that three of her uncles weren't coming back...

The ARC was drawn from his thoughts by a sudden loud crash and several muttered curses coming from the kitchen. Kot. He and Fives were the only ones in the small apartment as Wreck was with Sky. After Kenna had left, Skylar had decided that it would be best for Wreck to go with her to her appointment and for Fives to stay with Kot. She'd reasoned that their brothers needed emotional support that they probably wouldn't be able to give to each other, given the circumstances.

Fives peered into the kitchen, quickly noticing the shattered glass on the floor and Kot's frustrated expression. Apparently, the injured man had tried to open a jar with his remaining hand. "You okay, _Kot'ika_?"

"Sure I'm okay, _ner vod_. I'm only missing an arm. Why wouldn't I be okay?" The commando's sarcastic response was tinged with anger. And the slightest hint of fear, if he wasn't mistaken.

Fives didn't respond immediately, taking time to figure out his response as he located a broom. He'd never had the chance to use one before, but he knew how they worked. In theory. He busied himself with sweeping up the glass as Kot grabbed a towel and mopped up the food he'd spilled. It was quiet as the two worked together. Even though not a word was traded between the two of them, the ARC could literally _feel_ the tension in the air.

He dumped the glass into the trash bin, "You know it's not going to be like this forever, right? As soon as we get back to Triple Zero, they'll fit you for a proper prosthetic."

"That's the thing, Fives," Kot straightened, not meeting his eyes. "My job is to _make_ shrapnel out of droids. I don't want to _be_ part droid, _vod'ika_."

_Ah. He's worried about becoming a cyborg. _"Kot, look at me." He finally did. "Having a droid arm doesn't make you less of a man. Or less of a brother. I wouldn't care if you sprouted wings and tail and started walking on all fours. We're your family and we love you no matter what. Let the rest of the _shabla_ galaxy believe what they want. And if anyone says anything to you about it... Well, you've got a _lot_ of _vode_ who've got your back. Okay?"

Kot smiled one of his shy grins, shaking his head, "Okay, _F'ika_. You know, your wife is _really_ rubbing off on you." He clapped Fives' shoulder in a brotherly gesture as he walked out of the kitchen, probably headed to his room to mull over what the ARC had said. "Just thought you should know."

Fives smiled to himself as he got to work on the dinner dishes. Sky liked to come home to a clean house. _Hopefully this will ease at least some of her stress._

"Fives?" Kot had stuck his head back through the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I call Tea?"

Fives rolled his eyes, "You don't need my permission, Kot. She _is_ your niece, after all." He and Sky had already talked with their daughter _several_ times that day. And Kot knew not to mention Fidget, Cade and Kendan's deaths to the four year old. Fives and Skylar had decided that they would break the news to Teanna when they returned home. _That way, we can _be_ there to comfort her._

* * *

Only when Cordav was sitting in the passenger seat of her rented speeder did she finally allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. Wreck gave her a small smile and rubbed her forearm gently as he piloted them back to the apartment, "You feeling okay, Sis?"

She chuckled, "Funny, I was just about to ask _you_ that."

Her brother took a deep, steadying breath, "I'll miss 'em, that's for sure." It was quiet for several minutes as Wreck fought to keep his composure. He gave her a quick look, "You _knew_ that Kenna was coming, didn't you." There was no doubting the accusation in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she asked me not to. When I talked with Kenna, she still hadn't decided what she was going to do." She fixed him with a look that he didn't see, as his gaze was fixed on the skylane in front of them, "And when did you decide to start calling her again?"

Wreck sighed again, "When you and Fives had your little mini-fight. I told him about what happened to me and Kenna. And your husband convinced me that I needed to stop running." He gave her another small smile, "You'll never believe what Kenny told me."

"What, Wreck?" Judging by the way he was grinning, even after all they'd just been through, she knew it had to be something good. _Judging by the force of that slap, it can't be that Kenna wants him back, though... She hit him _much_ harder than I did Fives that one time._

"Griff _knows_ who I am. Skylar, when we get back to Corrie, I'm finally going to _meet_ my _son_!"

"_Kandosii_! Wreck, that's great!"

"Just as good as knowing that _your_ baby's okay too. I wonder how _F'ika_'s going to react to seeing those holos of his kid?" There was just the slightest hint of mischief in the sergeant's voice, like he was up to something... _He's going to be okay. I think we'll _all_ be. But we won't forget you boys._

"_Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum_." Wreck chimed in with her as she recited everyone they'd lost, including Fives and Kot's brothers, "_Buir_, Trick, Davy, Nero, Red, Frost, Tracker, Pitch, Brace, Jack, Brandt, Trigger, Lock, Cross, Beviin, Clue, Bullseye, Jenner, Jab, Crash, Keno, Pak, Quip, Hero, Kor, Cabur, Devrin, Fidget, Cade, Kendan, Droidbait, Cutup, Hevy, 99, Echo, Hardcase, Watt, Lark, Twitch, Whisper, Lion, Dirk, and Knack."

"_Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la_," Wreck whispered and they finished the ride in silence.

* * *

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_shabla = cursed_

_vode = siblings_

_Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. = I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal. (Mando daily remembrance for lost loved ones.)_

_Buir = Papa_

_kandosii = excellent_

_Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. = Not gone, merely marching far away._

_Please R&R._


	12. Meetings

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to emjalen and Delta808th for reviewing!  
_

* * *

**Coruscant, three and a half weeks later...**

Kenna wrung her hands anxiously as Tessa piloted her and Griff to her former sister-in-law's apartment. The younger Kiffer woman wanted nothing more than to tell her aunt to turn them around and head home. _But I've put this off for too long. Wreck is Griff's father and I promised myself that I would never keep my child from his dad. Not in the way that Mom kept me from my father. I _won't_ do that to my baby..._

Even if she was still scared of how Wreck would take this. She hadn't exactly told him about Griff's health problems. _I _should_ have told him. It's too late now..._

Griff, mercifully, had zonked out halfway through the ride, so he wasn't going to pick up on his mother's anxiety. Her son may have been behind in his development, but he was smarter than a lot of people thought. When Kenna had come home from seeing Wreck for the first time in a year, she'd been so upset and Griff had immediately sensed it. Her normally wiggle worm of a son had spent the rest of the day just cuddling with his mama. Kenna smiled at the memory, turning around and reaching back so that she could gently brush Griff's red locks out of his face. The one year old stirred but didn't wake.

Kenna turned forward and resumed wringing her hands until Tessa's right hand clasped her forearm, "Relax. Everything's going to be fine, Kenna."

The younger woman stilled, but turned her glance toward the window, "You don't know that, Tessa. Wreck doesn't... I didn't tell him about Griff's health. All the hospital bills. What if he doesn't...?" A single tear traced down her cheek, followed by a few others. Kenna turned around again to watch as her son continued sleeping peacefully. She just couldn't imagine anyone turning their back on their own child. _But Wreck did. And I had thought that he _wanted_ a baby._

"We won't know until we at least try, Ken." Ken. Only Tessa called her that. And only Wreck and his sister called her 'Kenny'. "And it will be over soon anyway. We're here."

Kenna said nothing as Tess landed their beat-up old speeder. She maintained her silence as she and her aunt exited the speeder and Kenna leaned back in to gently extricate her son from his baby seat. She turned around and her heart literally jumped into her throat as she found herself face to face with Wreck. He'd come up behind quietly, as silent as only a commando could be. She backpedaled, but only succeeded in hitting her back on the frame of the speeder. She winced and Griff stirred again, but this time he was jostled awake by her sudden movement.

Vaguely she was aware of Griff's little green eyes opening, but her own green gaze was glued to Wreck's face as she clutched their baby closer to her. She pressed her back harder against the speeder, but, of course, it didn't move out of her way. She was stuck where she was.

Face to face with her ex-husband.

Wreck, seeming to realize that he'd startled her, backed away a few paces. "Sorry, Kenny. I didn't mean to scare you," he said softly. Little Griff, who was looking at his mother in confusion, instantly turned his little head towards Wreck when the man spoke.

Kenna tore her gaze away from her ex-husband so that she could watch her son's reaction, readying herself for a quick escape should Griff show any signs of stress. The last thing she wanted was to finish another day in the emergency room of the nearest medcenter. So caught up was she in the man and child that, even though she saw Skylar come out of the building and greet Tessa, she didn't pay any attention to the other two women at all. Not even when Gabriel came out and joined the two.

Griff's little eyes were wide as he watched his father. And, even though her baby was only a year old, Kenna knew full well what he was thinking. She'd been there. Granted, she'd been _much_ older when she finally met her dad, but the situation was almost the same. _It's one thing to see a picture of your father, another thing completely to finally meet him in the flesh._

They just stood there for several minutes as Kenna watched her son and ex-husband stare at each other. A small smile played on the sergeant's face as Griff pulled one of his indecisive faces, sticking the tip of his little tongue out as he cocked his little head and squinted his green eyes. Then... "Dada?" the little boy said quietly.

Wreck beamed at the boy who gave him a big toothy smile in return. The man reached to take him from Kenna's arms, stopping just before his fingers touched the baby. "Kenna? May I?"

Kenna clutched Griff closer to her, shaking her head, but Griff had other ideas. He reached for Wreck, squirming so hard that Kenna was beginning to lose her grip. "Dada! Dada!"

And right then, something happened that eased her fears completely. Wreck sobbed. It was a small sob, quickly bottled up, but it was a sob nonetheless. He wasn't the same man she'd divorced all that time ago, that much was certain. A few tears ran down the man's face and Kenna instantly felt _guilty_. "G-go... She cleared her throat, "Go ahead, Wreck. Hurry, before he makes me drop him."

Wreck did, but slowly, so as not to startle her again. He cuddled the baby close, pressing a gentle kiss to Griff's forehead. "Yes, _ad'ika_. I'm Dada. And I love you _so_ much. I'm _so_ sorry." He turned his brown gaze to Kenna, "I'm sorry, Kenny. I shouldn't... I..." And for the first time since they'd met, he actually started to cry.

Griff, unsure, patted his little hand on his father's jaw, making Wreck look at him again, "Dada? Wong?"

Wreck looked to Kenna for the translation. She smiled softly as she moved closer so that she could smooth her hand over Griff's head, smoothing the baby's flyaway hair. She was still jumpy and ready to pull her baby from him should he change his mind, of course. "Griff's asking you what's wrong. He picked that up from Tess after I came home from..." She stopped, biting her tongue. Judging by the guilty look on his face, Wreck knew very well that she was referring to their reunion a little over three weeks ago.

"L-like I said, Kenny. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't change what I... what I _did_ to the two of you, but I _want_ to make things right. I'm not the immature jerk I was back then, and I hope you can find it in your heart to give me a chance to prove it to you."

She stepped back, but still close enough to yank Griff from him should she have to, "Just _one_ chance, Wreck. That's all you get. 'Cause you don't even deserve that." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the expression on Wreck's face made her instantly regret it. _Well, it _is_ the truth..._

_But did I say it because it's the truth, or because I wanted to get back at him?_

* * *

Teanna lay on her stomach on the floor, pulling a face as Griff tried to eat the head of her stuffed nerf. _Eww!_ "That's gross, Griff!" she whined.

Mama chuckled from the sofa were she was reclining. Mama hadn't been feeling well lately, and, at first, Tea was scared because she thought that she was going to lose her mother like she kept losing her uncles.

_But I know better now. It's the baby's fault_. It had been a month since Daddy had told her that she was gonna be a big sister and the little Togruta girl still didn't like the idea. She didn't mind having another baby like Griff around. Like Briika, he was her cousin. Which meant that the two of them had different mamas and daddies than her and she didn't have to share hers with them.

But just because she didn't like the new baby didn't mean that she could be mean about it. She still helped Mama because it wasn't Mama's fault that she kept getting sick. _And I promised Daddy that I would be a big girl. Daddy's counting on me_.

_I want Daddy._ Shortly after her parents had told her about her uncles in Aran, her daddy had been called away on another mission. _And he'll be gone for two more months. It's not fair._

Griff giggled again, reaching towards her and grabbing her right lekku in his chubby little hand. "OW!" she screeched, pulling away from him and jumping onto the couch with her mother, out of her newfound cousin's reach. "That hurt, Griff!"

Little Griff started to cry and was immediately scooped up by Uncle Wreck who gave her a disapproving look, "You can't yell at Griff, Tea. He's just a baby, he didn't mean it."

Tea sniffed, "But that _hurt_, _ba'vodu_."

Mama gently caressed her still throbbing headtail, "I'm sure it did, but Griff's still a baby. He doesn't understand and it's our job to _teach_ him. You can't teach if you're yelling, okay?"

Tea huffed, causing Kenna to actually chuckle, and the little girl could tell that it didn't sound right. The younger woman with the dark green tattoo looked _very_ nervous. But Tea didn't really care. "Is it gonna be like this with Brii and the baby too?"

That elicited chuckles from the grownups in the room, but Tea just growled under her breath. _It's not funny._

* * *

Sky laughed with her two brothers and the two women at the children's antics, but her mind was elsewhere. She rubbed her belly as had recently become her habit over the last month. Her mind was on what Kenna had told them about Griff's condition. It practically broke her heart that Kenna and Griff had been through so much. She'd been sending some creds to them over the past year, as an anonymous donor by Wreck's request, but that apparently hadn't been enough to help.

"Why don't you move in with us?" she asked, knowing full well that the stubborn Kiffar woman would turn her down. Kenna had done that once before, shortly after she'd married Wreck. And it looked like she was about to do it again.

"I don't want to intrude."

"Intrude?" Wreck gave her a disbelieving look as he settled on the floor with Griff and beckoned to Tea to join them. "Where did you get that idea?"

"I'm not exactly family anymore, Wreck. You of all people should know that."

Cordav fixed Kenna with a stern glare, "You most certainly _are_ still family. Things may not have gone the way we would have liked, but we'll never stop being there for you and Griff. Or Tess, for that matter. Deal with it." _And my boys think _I'm_ stubborn._

That seemed to soothe her sister's frayed nerves somewhat, "I appreciate the sentiment, Sky. But I'll have to think on it." Judging from the glare that Tessa was giving her niece, Skylar didn't doubt that the older Kiffar wouldn't let Kenny get away with turning them down.

Sky continued rubbing her belly as her mind wandered to Fives and what he might be doing at the moment. _Stay safe, _cyar'ika_._

* * *

Earlier, Kot had decided that it was probably best for him to go out for the evening. He'd turned down Sky's offer to accompany him, citing that it was probably for the best that she and Gabriel be with Wreck when Kenna brought Griff to the apartment. He'd reasoned that he didn't need to be there for the first time that Wreck met his son, since he hadn't really known Kenna. He didn't want to overwhelm the Kiffar woman, he knew what it was like to be overwhelmed. _One step at a time. I'll properly meet her and the kid when they're ready for it._

Which explained why he was in this particular bar drinking water instead of doing so back home. He adjusted his sling that still held his now healed arm stump to his body. They were still waiting on his prosthetic, turns out he wasn't the only soldier needing one.

Kot looked around him. He'd chosen this seedy bar because part of him hoped that he might actually bump into Katarcca. But he wasn't in luck, not a Wookiee in sight. It was then that he noticed that the place was seedier than he'd thought. There were women on stage singing and dancing. Wearing clothes that bordered on provocative and that instantly made him disgusted. He'd only spent time around two women, not counting the kids. But those were two strong and level-headed women at that. And they'd taught him that _all_ women were to be respected, not to be lusted after like the dancers on stage and their boss were certainly hoping for. _Those girls can do so much better than that._

He shook his head and got up to leave when he noticed something happening in a corner. The rest of the customers either didn't seem to notice, or didn't seem to care that a _very_ drunk Tholothian male had cornered one of the waitresses who was dressed similarly to the performers. The girl, a blue-skinned Wroonian in a low-waisted floor-length skirt and almost skimpy bikini top, was clearly protesting the scum's advances, but the guy wasn't giving up. Everyone ignored her pleas. Everyone, except for Kot.

Who just couldn't stand there and do nothing. The commando got up, stalked straight toward the two, and proceeded to deck the Tholothian with his remaining hand, hitting the drunk hard enough to render him unconscious.

The entire bar grew quiet as they watched him with bated breath. But Kot could care less that all eyes were now on him. His eyes were on the very frightened Wroonian, who wasn't as young as he thought she was. _Seventeen, maybe eighteen at the most._ He'd first thought that she was a little younger.

Regardless, she was still a minor._ What's a minor doing working in a place like this?_ Minors didn't really exist in the clones' society, every one of them, from cadet to commander, were capable killers. But, thanks to Sky, the former trooper knew enough of civvie society to know that someone as young and clearly as innocent as this girl shouldn't have been working in a bar. But they were on the cusp of Coruscant's Underworld, so that explained it a little. _She probably has nothing else to turn to..._

"Are you alright, Miss?"

She looked up at him, her yellow eyes wide in fear as she tried to press herself further into the corner.

* * *

_ad'ika = little one_

_ba'vodu_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_Please R&R._


	13. Zephyr

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to ZabuzasGirl, Delta808th, emjalen, Janizary, and Kelana-ti for reviewing!  
_

_Leave a review to tell me what you think and I'll give you a sneak peek to the next chapter!  
_

* * *

Zephyr looked up into the gentle brown eyes of the man who'd just rescued her from Cales. _Rescued? Yeah, right. More like he wants me for himself. _The Wroonian girl was not once convinced by the soothing note in the one-armed man's voice. _Cales used to be the same way, at first. Now, thanks to that rotten piece of trash, I'm almost three months pregnant. This guy's just the same. He'll use me, then throw me away like Cales was promising to do._

Zephyr was well aware that it had _looked_ like the Tholothian was making amorous advances, but that had been far from the truth. He'd noticed a few days ago that she was beginning to get slightly plump in the middle and, even in his continual drunken state, had managed to put two and two together. He'd been threatening her since. The night before, he'd given her an ultimatum. Get an abortion, or he'd kill her. Tonight, she was supposed to have come in... well, a little thinner.

And, typically, she'd made her own decision. And to anyone who knew how to look for it, her so-called silvery 'uniform' showcased that she was very clearly almost at the end of her first trimester.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that her 'savior' had moved closer until the black-haired human gently touched her upper arm causing her to try to cringe away from him. The wall blocked her escape on either side.

"Oh, sorry," he said, backing away and giving her room to move out of the corner that Cales had backed her into. That threw her for a loop. Most of the men who approached her, almost always Cales, would never give up that kind of power. This guy was apparently new at this.

What he did next completely surprised her. He shrugged out of the jacket that he was wearing and offered it to her, "Here, you've _got_ to be freezing. I'm used to space, but even I'm cold in all of this," he finished, motioning to the pants and long-sleeved shirt that he was wearing.

In truth, Zephyr _was_ cold. She was _always_ cold here. Her boss seemed to think that keeping the place at a temperature found only in a conservator would encourage the girls working for him to 'get closer' to the customers. She flinched at the disgusting memories of what she'd been forced to do. She'd only stayed on because Gaon Quile had offered his employees 'protection'. That protection only went for their lives unfortunately. Not their bodies.

_Which is why I'm now pregnant. And this guy doesn't seem to notice that._ She continued holding the jacket loosely in her hand, not even daring to put it on. Part of her was expecting him to overwhelm her when her hands were busy and carry her off to some place she didn't know to have his way with her. Zephyr just kept her wide yellow eyes on him, getting ready to make a run for it.

But he just stepped further back, "I won't touch you again, _ner vod_, I promise." Seemingly true to his word, he backed up another pace, holding his remaining hand loosely at his side. Where she could see it. And completely ignoring the other 'customers' watching him suspiciously. All of the people here were regulars with similar 'tastes' to Cales. The fact that the other scum didn't recognize this guy managed to put her mind at ease. But only a little. There was still a fifty per cent chance that he could be _worse_ than the men who'd already violated her.

"Nair vowd?" she asked, trying to keep him busy as she quickly shoved her arms into the jacket. He chuckled at her question and she froze in the act of rolling up one of the too long sleeves. _This is it._

But he just stayed where he was. And that was when she saw that Gaon was coming their way, his face bright red with fury.

"What do ya t'ink you doing?" Quile practically yelled. "If you gonna harass my workers on da job, you leave now, ya hear?"

"Harass?" If anything, the younger man looked shocked. "I just stopped that _hut'uun_. He was about to _rape_ her." _Okay, maybe he _is_ a good guy, after all._ Zephyr gave him a defiant glare. _Just go. Please. If you keep this up, he'll fire me for sure. Or worse. Just go!_

"Oh-ho. You t'ink you self-righteous, eh Mando?" _Mando? As in Mandalorian? That might explain why he's missing half an arm._ Her savior tensed as the overweight human mocked him. _Don't, buddy. If it comes to a fight, everyone here will side with Gaon. They'll kill you. Just walk away. Walk away._

"I don't think I'm self-righteous, you _shabuir_. I just know that women should be treated with respect. And if you can't do that for _her_," he jabbed his chin toward Zephyr roughly, but his eyes were kind as they met hers, "then I'm sure my family won't object to taking her in." He turned to her halfway, still keeping his eyes on Quile. "That is, if you don't mind, Miss...?"

"Zephyr? You gonna take Zephyr away from me? One o' my best gals?" Gaon glowered at him. "I don't t'ink so, boy."

And before Zephyr even knew what happened, Quile's fat butt was rolling on the floor as he moaned in pain, a blaster wound on the right side of his chest. The one-armed man was now holding a smoking blaster pistol, and she hadn't even noticed him draw it, "Anyone else want to join those _di'kute_ on the floor?"

The others simply turned away from him, focusing back on whatever they'd been doing before the brown-eyed man had decked Cales.

"Didn't think so," he said quietly. He turned back to Zephyr and she actually found the courage to swing at him.

* * *

Kot dodged the hit, "Hey! I just saved your life and this is how you thank me?"

The fear was still evident in the Wroonian girl's eyes, but there was a sort of determination in her face that he instantly respected. If she wasn't trying to smack him one, of course. "Save my life? You didn't save my life, you crazy Mando! You made me lose my job! Where the heck am I gonna find work now, huh?"

"I'm sure my sister can help you with that," he offered, dodging yet another flimsy hit.

"Your partner in crime?" she questioned, obviously trying to sound threatening, but the question came out as a squeak as she backed away from him again. She finally seemed to realize that she wasn't capable of hitting him.

"I already told you, I'm not going to hurt you... Zephyr, was it?" She just kept glaring and Kot couldn't help but think that she would be quite threatening if she wasn't shaking so hard. He took a few steps closer, making sure to take it slowly. She watched him carefully as he holstered the gun, but she didn't try to move away. "My sister's my sergeant," he whispered so that only she could hear. "I'm a Republic soldier, ma'am. My name's Kot and I'm here to help you."

He could tell that she _wanted_ to believe him. But she'd obviously been abused for far too long. That made him angry, but Kot was careful to keep that from showing. He didn't realize until right then that he was acting in much the same manner that Sky had when she'd talked him down from suicide.

Zephyr tried to fold her arms defiantly, but the effect was marred by her insecure posture, "You're not the first person to say something like that. Cales promised me much the same thing. And you saw what he just tried to do to me," she finished, nodding toward the still conked out Tholothian male. "What he did to me," she finished in a whisper as her hand drifted down to rest on the slight pooch of her belly. And Kot was instantly even angrier. He found himself wishing that he'd killed the Tholothian instead of knocking him out. _She's _pregnant_. That... _thing_ raped her before._ Kot knew that babies were a sign of hope, but he could see that Zephyr seemed ashamed of her child and that confused him. Yes, it's father was a criminal, but it wasn't the baby's fault. _I'll have to talk with Sky about it later._

"I should have noticed what was happening sooner, Zephyr. I'm sorry." _Not that it would have changed anything. But still..._

The girl shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. He could tell that she was still scared out of her mind. "I'm used to it, Kot. If that's your real name."

Osik_! How in the _manda_ am I going to get this girl to believe me?_ "It is. And my number's RC-9075-3213. I'm a member of Beta Squad under Jedi Master Arligan Zey, General of the Special Operations Brigade," he rattled off, hoping that the ease with which he gave her the information would help her believe.

She raised an eyebrow, "Okay..." Her gaze jumped around the room. They were still getting looks and Kot realized that those looks were getting more hostile. If they stayed much longer, the ease with which he'd taken down Zephyr's boss wouldn't deter any of them.

Zephyr came to the same conclusion as he did. Kot motioned for her to move ahead of him and he followed her. Walking backward with his blaster back in his hand. _This would be so much easier with my _buy'ce_ on._ Now he understood why Skylar was so adamant that they'd learn to fight without their armor. He'd never thought he'd need it until now.

But the people in the bar were even more _hut'uunla_ than he'd thought. Not _one_ followed them out of the place. Turning around, Kot continued to let Zephyr go ahead of him, using his broad back as a shield for her in the case that one of the customers might have changed his mind. He guided her with a few spoken directions until they'd reached the speeder bike he'd borrowed from Arca Barracks. And then she froze on him.

"Are you kidding me?! There is no way in Corellia's nine hells that I'm getting on _that_! There isn't even a proper safety belt! What's to keep me from falling off when we're airborne?"

_Force give me strength._ "That's what your _knees_ are for, Miss. And you can hold on to me if you like. I've been piloting these things since I was the equivalent of a five year old, so I doubt I'd fall off anytime soon."

She narrowed her eyes at him, having already taken a few steps back when he'd offered to let her hold on to him. _She doesn't trust me enough to touch me yet._ He sighed, "Look, it's either stay here and get raped every day for the rest of your life, or come with me to my home. You and your baby will be safe there, I promise."

"How the _heck_ did you know that?!" Clearly she didn't think he'd realize that she was pregnant from what she'd said just moments ago. He would have been offended that she thought so little of his intelligence if he wasn't too busy fighting back the re-surging urge to go back and finish her tormentors off for good. _What that Tholothian did to her... _He shuddered as both of her hands instantly came up to rest protectively on her belly.

But he figured that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he gave her another explanation, "My sister's pregnant too." With that, he swung onto the bike and started it up. "Now are you coming or what?" He really wasn't going to leave her, even if it took all night to convince her that he was on her side, but she didn't need to know that. If she thought there was still a possibility of him leaving her to her fate, it wouldn't take her long to swing up behind him.

"Fine, but give me the blaster."

"_Why_?" But he conceded anyway. _Whatever it takes to get her onto this bike. Come on, woman, I haven't got all night. Sky, Gabe and Dee are bound to be wondering where I am already._

Zephyr handled the weapon ineptly, keeping her fingers _well_ away from the trigger. Kot knew that she wouldn't be able to hit the broadside of the barn, but he kept in mind that even the most inexperienced could manage a deadly point blank shot. And she seemed to know that, "If you try anything, I _will_ shoot you when we land."

Kot nodded his head as she slipped the gun into the waistband of her skirt and swung up behind him. Once he was sure that she couldn't see his expression, he smirked, barely able to keep in a laugh. _She really hasn't thought this through. If she threatens to shoot me when we land, then why should I land?_ He wasn't going to be that cruel to her, he just found the thought funny for some unexplained reason.

Her arms snaked around his waist, gripping him almost tight enough to squeeze the life out of him. And, once they were airborne, he felt her press her face into his back, right between his shoulders. At first he thought that she was finally beginning to trust him, but realized that wasn't the case when he banked and her grip tightened even further. _She must really not like heights. And she knows that my hand is busy. _It was a little more difficult for him to control the bike with one hand than it would have been with two, but he wasn't going to tell Zephyr that. _She's scared enough as it is. I don't need her completely loosing her mind to terror._

He almost groaned as another thought came to him. His squad would be back from the Barracks by the time he got back to the apartment. Which meant that Doz would see him bringing a girl home... _I'm never gonna hear the end of it!_

* * *

_ner = my_

_vod = friend (Usually interpreted to mean 'sibling'. But works for friend too.)_

_hut'uun = coward_

_shabuir = bastard_

_di'kute = idiots_

_osik = crap_

_manda = heaven_

_buy'ce = helmet_

_hut'uunla = cowardly_

_Please R&R._


	14. Chagrin

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to Delta808th, LongLiveTheClones, Kelana-ti, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

_Leave a review to tell me what you think and I'll give you a sneak peek for the next chapter!  
_

* * *

_It's not like Kot to be late like this._ Ever since they'd returned from Florrum and Skylar's newest brother had been discharged from the medical center, he'd been a little distant. Kot had taken to wandering Coruscant on his own and that worried her. _Physically, he actually seems to be adjusting to missing an arm. But, emotionally..._ Cordav fingered her comlink as she lay on the sofa, contemplating on whether or not she should call and check on him. _I don't want to smother him, but I want to know that he's okay._ The feeling was very similar to what she was going through with Fives gone.

Her husband wasn't here and she had no way of knowing if he was lying on the battlefield of some planet after taking a blaster shot through the visor. Sky cringed at the mental picture and placed a hand on her still somewhat flat belly, it would be another month before she really started to show. _Daddy's going to be okay, baby. He'll be okay._

_Darn it, Kot! Don't do this to me!_ So caught up was she in her worry that she didn't even realize that Hew had come back downstairs until he lifted her legs so that he could set them in his lap as he sat down. "You need to go to bed, _S'ika_. Staying up like this isn't good for you. _Or_ the baby." Shortly after Kenna and Griff had left, Wreck had headed back to the Barracks to be with the rest of Tor Squad, since Zey had temporarily reassigned him with Jinx. And the rest of Beta had come back to the apartment. She'd thought that three of them had fallen asleep hours ago. But Hew, true to form, had apparently gotten the feeling that something wasn't exactly right with his sister.

"I can't sleep until I know that Kot's okay, _H'ika_."

"And until Fives calls?"

She smiled sadly, "That too. _Osik_, Hew. I _hate_ this. Sitting on the sidelines like this is for the _aruetiise_."

"And pregnant mamas," he put in pointedly, patting the hand that was still resting on her belly. He sighed, "Have you ever thought that this is what _Tea_ goes through every time you and Fives leave?"

Sky cringed. That was hitting below the belt. She hadn't actually thought about it that way, but he was _right_. Sure, she did a good job being Teanna's mother when she was around, but not once did she think about what she was doing to her daughter when she left. Tea wasn't stupid, the little Togruta _knew_ that the missions they went on were dangerous. That it was quite possible that _both_ of her parents might never come back home...

Her eyes began tearing up, "Oh Force, Hew. How could I have been so _di'kutla_?"

He fixed her with a stern, but gentle gaze, "You're not _di'kutla_, _ori'vod_. You just-"

And then her comlink went off, Kot's code. She sat up quickly as she answered, "_Osik_, _Kot'ika_! Are you _trying_ to give me a stroke? Where _are_ you?"

"Udesii_, Sky. I'm fine, I'm almost home, I promise._" She thought she could hear him mutter something about 'hormones'. Hew chuckled at her side and she stuck her tongue out at him. He doubled over in silent laughter, but she chose to ignore him. _We sure are some tough Mando warriors. Immature would be a better adjective._

"You'd better be."

"_Is Doz still awake?_"

"Uhh... no. Why?"

If anything Kot sounded just a little embarrassed, "_I, uh, I'm almost home 'cause I'm actually on the landing platform right now._"

Hew stopped laughing and gave her a confused look, but stayed silent, waiting for her to speak. But she didn't. Skylar shut off the comlink and stood up in one swift movement. And then she marched out the door and straight toward the landing platform. Hew right behind her. Cordav didn't like her brothers holding back details from her as she was always completely honest with them. The fact that Kot wasn't telling her what was going on meant that he'd done something that he _knew_ she wouldn't approve of. _And I'm going to tan his hide for it too._

It wasn't until she came out and saw the Wroonian girl that Kot was trying to help off the speeder bike that her anger abated. Apparently Kot hadn't known how to tell her about the situation in a way that wouldn't involve him getting teased. _That's why he asked if Doz was still awake._ Beta's ordnance man was well-known for being merciless when it came to teasing.

At first, Sky wondered if this girl was his secret girlfriend that he'd been going to off to see lately. But, after watching them for a few seconds, she could tell that that wasn't the case. _It's not like him to be so secretive anyway._ Every time Kot got close to the blue-skinned girl, who was dressed in Kot's jacket and a long silvery skirt, she'd flinch and he'd instantly pull away. Trying not to scare her more than she obviously already was.

That, and the girl was very obviously three months pregnant. Kot, like her and like all the rest of her brothers, wasn't one to sleep around.

Hew reached Skylar's side and exchanged a look that she knew well. This wasn't the first time that a brother had brought a jumpy girl home. The last time was when Gabriel had introduced them to Deena... But this was a completely different situation. Dee hadn't seemed wary of Gabe in the way that this yellow-eyed girl was of Kot. _She's been abused. And I don't think I'm off the mark by guessing that getting pregnant wasn't by her choice..._

As soon as the teenager was safely off the bike, yellow eyes met hers and the Wroonian instantly cringed, dark blue hair flying as she dashed behind Kot. Said commando rolled his eyes in exasperation before giving them an apologetic look and Sky had to admire his patience. _He is definitely not the suicidal man I met on the way back from Kadavo..._

* * *

As soon as Zephyr saw the man and woman waiting for them at the door to the building, she immediately hid behind her 'savior'. She still didn't trust Kot completely, but she did know now that he wasn't going to harm her, at least not yet. Those two, however, they were unknown. They could have been outright murderers, for all she knew.

Kot murmured assurances to her, but thankfully, he didn't move. He didn't try to reach out and comfort her either. He just kept talking to her softly, but she barely heard him. She was peeking over Kot's shoulder, completely focused on the man that looked _exactly like him_. And the woman standing at Kot's twin's side. The human woman was about the same size as Zephyr, but the very defined curves of her body suggested that she was a few years older. _Kot's sister? She looks nothing like him. Not like that man does... And it doesn't look like she's pregnant, unless she just found out._

The woman, 'Sky', as Kot had named her on the ride here, looked _very_ intimidating. She was dressed in red pants and a tight black sleeveless shirt that clearly displayed a hardened musculature. And a very big, very black tattoo of some kind of skull on her upper left arm. _That probably means that she's Mando too. Even without the tattoo, she looks like she can eat me alive._ The sixteen-year-old hadn't realized that she was gripping Kot's left elbow in a death grip of terror until he backed a pace closer. Zephyr found that she was actually starting to appreciate his closeness, if only just a little. _At least I'm not facing this warrior woman and Kot's brother by myself. I've got Kot between me and them._

The woman's dark brown eyes, darker than Kot's and his twin's at least, turned gentle. Sky gave the man at her side a quick look and moved forward alone. Striding purposefully, but not fast enough to be threatening. Zephyr still felt like her heart was pounding in her throat.

"_Udesii_, _vod'ika_. Easy there, sister. I'm sure Kot's told you that we're not going to hurt you," Sky said gently, stopping a few paces in front of her brother and giving a reassuring look. Zephyr just ducked her head down out of Sky's view, pressing herself against Kot's back as she shivered.

"_Now_ you decide you trust me?" Kot asked softly, just a bit of irritation coming through in his voice. _No, not really. You're just a better alternative than her._ Zephyr knew that she'd been trying his patience, but she didn't care. She didn't like the look of this woman, no matter how gentle her voice was. And, suddenly, it was as if Kot could read her thoughts, "You can trust Sky, Zephyr. She saved _me_ once."

"Zephyr? That's a pretty name, _vod'ika_. Any family looking for you, Zephyr?" Sky questioned soothingly.

The Wroonian girl shook her head, even though she knew that the human woman couldn't see her. "N-no. I've been on my own since my mother died," she answered, somehow managing to keep her voice somewhat steady. _Why am I telling her this? 'Cause I know that Kot's right, that's why. Even if my mind doesn't completely agree with me._

Kot turned and she flinched when he wrapped his good arm around her shoulders. But she allowed him to bring her closer to his sister, only to completely freeze when there was a good three foot distance separating her from the Mando woman. Kot went to remove his arm from around her, but Zephyr found herself pressing up against his right side so that he had no other choice but to keep his arm in place. And she had no idea why she did that.

* * *

Fives lay on his bunk in his own private quarters, listening in disbelief as his wife told him about Kot's new 'best friend'. Not only was there another woman in their ever growing family, but _another_ baby on the way too.

"How does Kot feel about her?" Fives couldn't help asking Skylar that particular question. He smirked to himself. _Kot was right, I'm _really_ starting to sound like my woman._

"_I'm not sure Kot feels anything for her in _that_ way, _cyar'ika_. I think, when he rescued her, he was just trying to do the right thing._" She chuckled, "_He is so completely out of his element. Totally flummoxed. Zephyr's not too keen on any of us right now, she won't even let Deena come near her. Except for Kot. She cringes when we talk to her, but not as much when Kot speaks._" That told him just how scared the girl was as Dee was well known for having a soothing presence.

And Fives was a little bit surprised. He knew Kot wasn't a natural when it came to comforting people he didn't know well, whereas it was Deena's _job_ to calm total strangers. _But I guess there is a reason behind it._ According to what Sky had told him, which was only the barest of info gathered from Kot, the Wroonian girl hadn't been given much reason to trust other people. Which was why Zephyr was slightly more comfortable around Kot. He'd basically saved her from her own personal hell while Deena was just another stranger to her.

He was about to ask his wife how Tea was handling all the new additions when his door slid open. Only four people had that kind of access to his quarters aboard the _Resolute_. Admiral Yularen, General Skywalker, Commander Tano, and Captain Rex. It was the blond captain who was giving him a disapproving look from the doorway.

"I gotta go, _Ruus'ika_," Fives said carefully. _Ruus'ika_ was part of their 'code' that they'd thought up over the past month. If anyone who wasn't supposed to know about their relationship was within earshot, he'd call her '_Ruus'ika_' which meant 'little sergeant'. And she'd call him '_vod'ika_'. Words that they would normally never call each other, so it was the perfect way of saying 'I love you' without being suspicious.

"_Okay_, vod'ika," she said softly, cutting off the link on her end.

Fives sat up, an innocent expression on his face. Inwardly, he was cringing. _I was never the actor that Sky is. And Rex knows me too well..._ There was no doubt in Fives' mind what his brother had come here for, judging by the look on Rex's face.

As soon as they'd returned to Arca Barracks from the disastrous mission on Florrum, Sky had marched herself straight towards General Zey's office to request maternity leave, as she'd promised Fives and her brothers. It had been three weeks since then, which meant that word had already gotten around. In this army, especially among the clones, once word was out, it was _out_.

Which meant that Rex had heard it and had put two and two together. Skylar had mentioned several times that the captain was on to them.

* * *

Rex continued glaring as Fives' innocent expression fell. The ARC's expression turned grave as Fives motioned him in. The tattooed clone closed the door and turned around, looking crestfallen, "Before you say _anything_, Rex, you need to know that my family isn't a distraction to me. And, if you turn us in..." The normally headstrong man's shoulders slumped and his voice sounded weak, "If you turn us in, I'll never see them again."

Even though it hurt him to see a brother like this, Rex wasn't about to back down, "You should have thought about that _before_ you got your commanding sergeant _pregnant_, Fives."

Fives looked up and met his eyes, " We _did_ think about it, Rex. We were being extra careful, I _swear_. We were going to wait to have a kid until the war was over, but the baby had other ideas."

Rex fixed him with a steady, stern glance, "This isn't a joking matter, Fives. Families _are_ distractions that soldiers like us can't afford. You can't keep your head in a fight if you're too busy worrying about a wife and kids."

Fives glared at him _hard_ and Rex was taken aback. The ARC Trooper was one of the very few brothers that Rex was very close to and it confused him to see such a hostile expression as the one that Fives was directing towards him, "_My _wife and _my_ babies are _not_ a distraction, Rex. My _family_ makes me _stronger_." There was a deadly quality to the other man's voice as he continued, "_They_ are the main reason why I'm fighting in this war. If it wasn't for them and for you and our brothers, you can guarantee that I wouldn't be hanging around here anymore."

And before Rex knew it, the fiercely protective Fives was gone. "You _can't_ tell anyone, _ner vod_. _Gedet'ye_. _Please._"

Rex sighed. _I hadn't realized how deep he's gotten himself into this._ In fact, Fives very much reminded him of Cut right then. And the captain couldn't, in good conscience, turn either brother in. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, "Alright, fine, Fives. Just... keep your head where it needs to be, okay?" _I don't want to lose you because your head wasn't in the game._

Fives gave him a grateful smile before pulling him into a tight brotherly hug, "_Vor ent'ye_. _Thank you_." _Every time I see Fives, he's become more and more Mando._

Rex pulled back and nodded, unused to such contact. Before he reached the door, he glanced over his shoulder and gave Fives a small smile and another nod, "Congratulations."

Once Rex reached the door to his own quarters he found that he wasn't really tired. So he turned on his heel and made his way towards the mess hall instead, his mind on getting some caf since he probably wasn't going to get any sleep. As he walked, his mind drifted to Saleucami. He remembered his shock when he'd met Cut and found out that his brother had married Suu and had adopted her children. His niece and nephew for all intents and purposes.

He had gotten the same feeling when Jesse, whose squad was also accompanying Torrent Company, had let slip that Sergeant Cordav was _pregnant_, although the commando hadn't known who the father was. But Rex had. _Now I know why Sky had said that Tea might start calling me her 'uncle'. They got married, probably that very day. _If Mandalorians didn't need paperwork to adopt, he was pretty sure they wouldn't need any to marry either.

"Something on your mind, Rexter?"

Rex jolted to a stop. He'd made it to the mess hall. But he was also face to face with Ahsoka. _Commander Tano, Rex. She's your _commander_. _Not_ Ahsoka. Not anymore._ Her big blue eyes mesmerized him for a moment and he cleared his throat. _I can't exactly talk to her about Fives' family situation._ "Not really, little 'un," he said, shaking his head and mentally cringing. She wasn't exactly 'little' anymore. Of _that_ he was well aware of, to his chagrin.

* * *

_osik = crap_

_aruetiise = non-Mandalorians_

_di'kutla = stupid, idiotic_

_ori'vod = big sister_

_udesii = take it easy_

_vod'ika = little brother or little sister_

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_Ruus'ika = little sergeant_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_gedet'ye = please_

_vor ent'ye = thank you_

_And Rex finally makes his appearance in Vencuyan!_

_Please R&R._


	15. Midnight Talks

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to LongLiveTheClones and Delta808th for reviewing! Don't forget to leave a review if you'd like a sneak peek for the next chapter! :)  
_

* * *

And Ahsoka wasn't buying it. Rex knew because of the look that she was giving him. The look the young Togruta usually had when she _knew_ that you were deliberately not being truthful. Of course, the expression had never been directed at _him_ before...

"Rex, I _know_ that you're confused about something. I can help you, you know that." He didn't doubt her willingness, but what he was confused about was entirely new territory for the both of them. _Not exactly new, just... I've never actually talked about it with anyone before._ Except for Cut, of course.

In his discussions with his deserter brother, the two of them had briefly mentioned Rex's possible future children. And, over the months since Saleucami, Rex had found himself wishing for that day. A day when he could hold his own firstborn, a baby with brown eyes. Lately, the vision had changed to include the youngling having sienna skin... He shook his head, but there was no denying it. He officially had what was referred to in the holodramas as a 'crush'. _That doesn't seem to be the right word for it, though. _More like, well, a bond. But stronger, in a way. At least for him.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Ahsoka resting the palm of her right hand lightly on the side of his face. _She's never been this informal before..._ "It's Umbara, isn't it, Rex? None of that was your fault, Rexie. It was all Krell, not you." _Rexie. She hasn't called me that in a _long_ time._ His commander's bright blue eyes burned with sympathy and Rex found himself grateful, not for the first time and certainly not the last, that she'd been assigned to General Skywalker, to the 501st. Beginning with Slick's betrayal and ending with the former Besalisk General's rampage, Rex had found it increasingly hard to find the complete trust that he used to have in all of his brothers and the Jedi. Aside from a handful of brothers and maybe Generals Skywalker and Kenobi, Ahsoka was one of the very few who he trusted implicitly. She'd saved him more times that he'd saved her.

"No, Commander, it's not. Not this time," he answered, reaching up to cup her hand to his cheek. Her fingers were cool to the touch, but the feeling gave him an unexplainable sensation of warmth. Surety. Something that he'd craved for a long time. Ever since he'd been shot on Saleucami, actually. He took a deep breath, not quite knowing where he should start.

She pulled her hand away, the stripes of her montrals darkening in the Togrutan equivalent of a blush. She jerked her head toward the corner table that they often shared meals at and he followed her. Instead of sitting across from him, like she usually did, she sat next to him. Close enough that her upper arm was brushing against his. He could feel her cool skin through the sleeve of his fatigues.

They sat quietly for several minutes, neither one speaking or looking at each other. Just enjoying the peace. And Rex found it strange that he could only do so when she was with him. There was hardly any peace at all for him when he was alone in his own quarters. Bunking with the rest of the men of Torrent Company helped somewhat, but the vicinity of his brothers never could completely chase the bad memories away. Not like the presence of a certain Togruta beauty sitting right next to him could... _Stop right there, Rex. She's a Jedi and you're a soldier. You both have jobs to do. Besides, who's ever heard of a Human/Togruta couple anyway?_

She shifted uncertainly and that was when he realized that he wasn't the only one whose mind wouldn't allow him to sleep tonight, "Something wrong, sir?" _Here I am, thinking about me. Ahsoka's not the only one who's confused by... relationships. That Bonteri boy... He's a good kid, but he's been toying with her too much for my liking..._ That may not have been what was bothering her, but he still needed to take that into account if he truly cared for her.

Ahsoka looked up and met his eyes, rolling her own, "_Ahsoka_, Rex. Would it kill you to call me by my _name_ and not my title?" She didn't say that, until recently, he was well-known for occasionally calling her by her first name.

"It might, sir," he answered with a smirk causing her to stick her tongue out at him playfully. _She doesn't need to know that I've stopped calling her by her name because of my feelings for her. _Which were growing stronger no matter what. And he realized that, now, he actually was beginning to get tired of trying to suppress them.

The Togruta folded her arms and gave him her 'I'm-not-budging-so-you-might-as-well-get-on-with-it' look, "As to what's wrong, Rexter, I believe that I asked _first_."

He would have chuckled, but this topic was too serious for that, "Have you ever thought..." Rex trailed off, shaking his head, "Nevermind, Kid. It's not important."

"It is to me, why else would I be up and badgering you about it when I could be getting a full night's sleep?" she teased. "Have I ever thought... what?"

"Ahsoka, do you remember when we met Master Altis and his followers?"

She nodded, her face growing thoughtful. That had been an 'enlightening' experience for the both of them. Slowly, she nodded again, "I remember. What about them?"

"Have you... What I mean to say is-"

"You've been thinking about what it would be like to, someday, have a family of your own, haven't you?"

He flushed, turning his gaze from her, "Yeah."

"Is this because of Sergeant Cordav's pregnancy?" Rex almost gave himself away right then. He hadn't expected her to know of the Mando woman's condition. To all the men that knew her, Skylar was considered a clone in all but name. And clones usually preferred not to broadcast their personal lives. _Like me keeping Cut's existence a secret._ He felt guilty about that, but immediately pushed the feeling away. Cut was where he needed to be. And Rex wasn't about to tear any of his brothers from their families. _I really shouldn't have lectured Fives earlier. It wasn't my place and he was right._ If there was something he'd learned over the course of the war, it was that not all orders were _right_.

Ahsoka must have sensed his astonishment that she knew, "I overheard Master Kenobi and Master Zey talking about it." _Of course, I forgot that Sky had to go through General Zey to get her leave._ "Apparently, Master Obi-Wan had sensed it when he debriefed the sergeant after her mission to Florrum." She shivered as she mentioned the planet's name. "If I see that planet and those pirates again, it will be too soon..."

Rex nodded, remembering her telling him about her chaperoning mission to Ilum that she'd only just returned from. He remembered how frustrated he'd felt when she'd told him that she'd been captured by Ohnaka and his men. But he made himself re-focus on their discussion, "Sky's condition is part of it. I've... well, I've actually been thinking about for a long time. Before we met her."

"Maybe when the war's over then? I can be the fun aunt that your kids just love," she finished with a playful smirk.

_That's not exactly what I was thinking..._ But Rex laughed anyway, to keep her from seeing how downcast her words made him, "Fun? I'd say a better word is 'annoying'."

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him again and he chuckled. But he still wasn't too happy with the direction that their conversation _hadn't_ gone...

* * *

Kot, laying on a pallet on the living room floor, looked up to the couch and breathed a sigh of relief. _She's asleep. Thank the Force._

To say that Zephyr had been jumpy most of the night would be an understatement. She'd been completely _terrified_. The Wroonian girl hadn't released his elbow all through the introductions. Kot had at first thought that Skylar should have taken her time to introduce Zephyr to Gabe, Deena, the girls, and the rest of Beta, but he realized that it was probably for the best that his sister had done it her way. _Better that Zephyr knows who's here right away than to be 'ambushed' by them in the morning._

What the commando _still_ couldn't wrap his head around was the fact that Zephyr had hardly let him out of her sight. When Sky had suggested that she sleep in Tea's room by herself, the Wroonian girl had frantically shaken her head and clung to him tighter. But as soon as the others had headed upstairs to their own beds, Zephyr had immediately pulled herself away from him. _Either she trusts me and doesn't want to admit it, or she's more scared of everyone else than she is of me._

Kot started to pull himself up, but was immediately stopped before he could stand by a hand on his stub of an arm. Zephyr, now dressed in some of Sky's clothes, looked up at him with wide yellow eyes as she jerked her hand away, as if he'd electrocuted her. "You're not leaving, are you?" she asked in a shaky whisper.

He sighed, settling back down on the floor, this time in a sitting position, "No. I was_ trying_ to go use the 'fresher, Zeph."

If she didn't like the nickname, she didn't show any sign of it. "Oh," she responded, her voice sounding even smaller. "Sorry."

He ran a hand through his short black curls, hating how harshly he had responded to her. It wasn't her fault that he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. He softened his own voice, aiming for the tone that Sky had used to convince him to put down that blaster so many months ago and hoping to the _manda_ that he was getting it right, "There's nothing to be sorry for, Zephyr. None of this is your fault."

Zephyr sat up, curling herself protectively around the baby in her womb as she pressed herself into the corner of the couch. But she wasn't responding to him. He could tell by the unfocused glaze to her golden yellow eyes that her mind was far away, most likely thinking of her tormentors. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he pulled himself up onto the other end of the sofa.

"But it is..." Zephyr started softly, breaking the silence after several minutes. He opened his mouth to contradict her, but she kept going, her gaze focusing on the wall across from them. "Th-the," she cleared her throat, starting over, "I shouldn't have stayed there. As soon as I found out what _Gaon's_ really was, I should have left. But I didn't."

She rubbed both palms on her belly, "And when I found out that I was... I knew I couldn't stay because of the... because of the baby. But I went back anyway."

Carefully, Kot reached his hand out to put comforting hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but relaxed quicker than she had earlier. Her gaze met his. "It's not your fault, Zephyr. You were scared. And you yourself said that you don't have any family. Where else could you go? I just wish I could have helped you sooner..."

"They'd already... _used_ me before you-"

Kot shook his head, "By sooner, I meant before _any_ of it happened to you. I guess I have to be content with the fact that you and your baby are safe now."

Zephyr started to hyperventilate and Kot pulled his arm back, thinking that he'd done something wrong, that he'd managed to unintentionally scare his new friend. But that wasn't the case... "Oh F-force, Kot. A _baby_. I'm n-not ready, I can't do this." Tears trailed down her cheeks and Kot immediately hurt for her, even if he still didn't completely understand what she was so scared about. "I _can't_ be a m-mother. I didn't ask for th-this, I'm only s-sixteen," she finished, dissolving into tears.

_Sixteen?!_ She _was_ as young as he'd originally thought. And that made him _furious_. _I've got to keep a lid on it, for her sake. If Zephyr sees me angry _one_ time, then it's back to square one._

She hiccuped, trying to gain control of herself, but only succeeding in making herself cry harder. And Kot was at a complete loss. The only person he'd comforted who'd been this hysterical was Skylar. _This is different though, Zephyr's not my sister. _He reached over and awkwardly started patting her back gently. It seemed to help, but only a little. If it had been Skylar sitting next to him, he would already be holding her. _But that kind of contact will only scare Zephyr more._

"You're not alone, Zeph. I'm not going anywhere for a while," he added, holding up the stub of his left forearm in an effort to lighten the mood. As soon as he said that, he couldn't help but feel like he was floundering.

But it worked. She actually _smiled_ at him. It was a small, watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. _Thank the _manda_._

* * *

_manda = heaven_

_Please R&R._


	16. Di'kutla

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to Delta808th, wfolk, emjalen, and Kelana-ti for reviewing!  
_

_Be sure to leave a review and I'll give you a sneak peek for the next chapter. :)  
_

* * *

Skylar chuckled as Tea blew as hard as she could on the _beskad_, actually managing to produce a sound this time. Sure, it was more of a high pitched shriek than part of a melody but Cordav could hardly complain. _I probably sounded worse when Mama started to teach me._

Gabe and Doz, who were in the process of making breakfast, both winced, making her chuckle. Kot walked into the kitchen, hair a mess and looking far from well-rested.

"Your _girlfriend_ keep ya up late, _vod'ika_?" Doz asked, zeroing in on his one-handed brother.

Kot just glared at him, choosing not to answer. Which was good on his part. A flat-out rebuttal was just more ammo as far as Doz was concerned. Instead, he just looked at Sky, "Zephyr's still asleep."

Sky nodded, turning her attention back to little Teanna, who was frowning at the red flute in her little hands, "We'll practice later. Okay, _ad'ika_?"

"But I wanna learn _now_, Mama. _Gedet'ye_?" Tea did her absolute best to look perfectly pitiful. And she almost succeeded.

Skylar laughed and leaned forward to kiss the little Togruta's temple, "No whining, Teanna. Miss Zephyr's still sleeping, we need to let her rest."

Tea huffed, exaggeratedly puffing out her cream-colored cheeks, "Okaaay." Then she perked up, "Can I call Daddy?"

"The _Resolute_'s still in hyperspace, so I don't see why not." Sky only knew that because Fives had called her just an hour before, while their daughter was still sleeping. "Tell him that I said hello, okay?"

"_Eleck_, Mama." And with that, Tea bounded down from her seat and raced to the stairs, Sky's comlink grasped firmly in her little hands.

Doz scooped her up in his arms before she could leave the kitchen, "What have we told you about running in the house, _T'ika_?"

"That I shouldn't do it. But, _ba'vodu_-"

"No buts. Walk," he admonished firmly as he set her back down. "I don't want to have to be the one calling your _Buir_ to tell him that you broke your leg running up those stairs."

"Yes sir." And then she walked out of the kitchen. As fast as she could while still walking, of course.

Kot shook his head, rolling his eyes while Doz and Gabriel laughed along with Sky. _Only Tea._ "C'mon, _Kot'ika_. Sit with me for a minute," Sky offered, indicating Tea's recently vacated seat. And giving Doz a look that clearly said 'lay off' as Kot all but fell into the chair. "You look like you could sleep some more, _ner_ _vod_."

"Zephyr kept waking up." He drummed his fingers on the table as Doz went to wake up Hew and Top. Gabriel left the kitchen shortly after, Briika's bottle in hand. Deena was currently working the early morning shifts at the medcenter, she wouldn't be home until after noon.

Kot breathed a sigh of relief once they were alone, "There's something I wanted to talk with you about, _S'ika_."

Judging by the fact that he'd waited until they were alone, Skylar _knew_ that it had something to do with Zephyr. _Best just to listen and not jump to any conclusions though._ "About what, _vod'ika_?"

"When you and Fives found out that you were... _Yaihadla_, right?" he asked, his gaze asking if he'd gotten the _Mando'a_ term right. She nodded, and he continued, "You both seemed pretty happy about it."

"And Zephyr doesn't?" He nodded. Cordav took a breath, "The difference is, Kot, that Fives and I were expecting it to happen." She laid a hand on her belly, "Granted, I got pregnant sooner than we'd planned, but that's beside the point. The point is that we'd _agreed_ to have a baby. Whoever impregnanted Zephyr did so _without_ her permission."

"She doesn't want the baby?" Kot asked, seeming appalled that someone wouldn't want their own child. _But he's only had myself, Fives, Gabe, Deena, and Wreck as examples. He's still a lot more innocent about the ways of the galaxy than the rest of my brothers are._

"I can't answer that. Remember when I told you that Mandos become adults _much_ sooner than _aruetiise_? In her own mind, Zephyr's still a child. She's not mature enough to handle a child herself. And this is a child that she _didn't_ ask for."

Kot sat still for several minutes, chewing over what she'd just said. Finally, he nodded, "I told her that I'd be around, if she ever needed me."

Sky stood, kissing the top of his head as she went to put his plate together for him, "You did good, _Kot'ika_. Being there for her is the best thing we can do right now."

* * *

Zephyr woke to clinking silverware and something that smelled really good. As her stomach growled, she realized that she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. Kot was sitting on his pallet, his plate in his lap and another full plate next to him.

"Is that for me?" she asked. She winced at how small her voice sounded.

The clone, which Sky had told her that Kot and brothers actually were, looked up at her with a soft smile. She'd heard of clones, she just hadn't thought that they'd be allowed to wonder Coruscant like Kot had obviously been doing last night. He lifted the plate, "Yes. Compliments of Doz and Gabe."

Instead of taking the plate from him right away, she slid down to the floor next to him. He raised a brow as she took the food from him, "_Now_ you trust me?"

She gave him a small, shy smile in return, "No, not really." He chuckled softly and she wondered why she had ever thought that he could cause her harm. Sure, he was a big man who definitely knew how to fight, but he'd been nothing but gentle towards her. _But then, Gaon and Cales had both treated me like a lady... At first. I can't forget that people change._ Zephyr scooted back to where she was just beyond his reach.

Kot frowned, setting his empty plate down, "Zephyr?" She tried to avoid looking at him, but her yellow eyes were almost immediately drawn to his face. Her breakfast completely forgotten on the floor between them. He blew out a breath, at a loss as to what he should say.

She didn't say anything, she just sat and watched him squirm. _I know he's not toying with me. But I just can't-_

Kot seemed to finally have figured out what he wanted to say, "Zephyr, I _promise_ that I would _never_ hurt you. Okay? I'm a soldier, I don't break my promises."

The Wroonian girl just mutely nodded. She wanted to believe him, she really did.

* * *

Fives was vaguely aware that Tea would be going down for her afternoon nap by now when he took cover as an explosive detonated _way_ too close to his position. _Again._ He was currently holed up with Teroch Squad and it was obvious that the clankers had a _very_ good idea of their general position. General Skywalker had sent the five of them ahead to soften up the enemy. Aka, set up charges and blow out a good-sized portion of the fortress wall. _I don't see how that's going to happen any time soon._

"This is great, just great," Jesse's agitated voice came over the comlink. "There's no _way_ we're getting out of this one." Fives couldn't help but notice that the trooper-turned-commando was using a private channel, which meant that the rest of his squad couldn't hear him. Which was just as well. Unlike their sergeant, Cooper, Hotshot, and Chip had been fresh from Kamino when Sky had started cross-training them. They were still shinies, and Jesse didn't want to cause them to panic.

"We will, _ner vod_. I've been in tougher spots than this one." No need to mention that he'd lost a _lot_ of brothers in those tough spots, though. "General Skywalker, this is Fives, over."

"_Reading you loud and clear, Fives. Did you manage to blast us a way in?_"

"Negative on that, sir," Fives said, trying to keep his voice even as he ducked. _They've figured out where we are..._ "The tinnies are onto us. We're basically sitting ducks, General. We could use some help."

There was the sound of a lightsaber whirling and blasterfire before the _Jetii_ answered, "_Kind of busy at the moment. If you can't get those doors open, we're not gonna last out here._" Fives was struck by the almost complete lack of concern for the five of them. _The General _has_ seemed a little distant lately... It's got to be the war getting to him._ Jedi weren't meant to be soldiers, after all. _But, then again, officers aren't supposed to show any trace of panic anyway. That's probably it._

"Copy that, sir. We'll figure something. Fives out."

"Figure what, sir?" That was Cooper. He was arguably the youngest of the group, still a little on the gangly side. _This is no place for him, no place for us either. Sky is _so_ going to kill me for this..._ Fives couldn't help but notice that Chip and Hotshot were being uncharacteristically silent. They and Jesse had already figured out what he was planning...

"I'll create a diversion. You four carry out the mission."

"Diversion my foot, Fives. That's _suicide_," Jesse snapped. "No. Absolutely not." More blaster fire zipped over their heads and Fives slammed his hand on top of Jesse's helmet, pulling his brother down with him as he ducked again.

Fives took a deep, calming breath, "There's no other way, Jesse. I'll be fine, I've been training with a Mando a _lot_ longer than you have." _What I wouldn't give for some proper _beskar'gam_. And to see that Mando girl right now..._

His words didn't placate the other tattooed clone much, but Jess seemed to finally accept that Fives' mind was made up. "Alright," he sighed. "Just be careful out there, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"Copy that." With that, Fives started crawling down the trench on his belly, "When I say 'go', you _go_." _Sky is going to really, _really_ kill me. But what other choice do I have?_

After crawling several meters, he popped his bucketed head up over the top of the trench, gray rangefinder lowered. The tinnies were still firing on Teroch's position and he took a deep breath to steady himself. _Here goes nothing._

Fives pulled himself up out of the trench and ran full force at the fortress, his blasters aimed at the tinnies on the walls and giving out a battle cry that only he could hear in the confines of his bucket.

The guns on the turrets swiveled and Fives dodged heavy cannon fire. _Just like training with Domino back on Kamino. _The fact that he may very well end up joining the rest of his squad today wasn't lost on him. _It's a good thing that Sky and Tea know that I love them. At least, if I don't make it through this... And the baby... Oh, this is the most _di'kutla_ thing I've ever done._

_"Teroch, __go go go_!"

* * *

_beskad = flute made out of Mandalorian iron. Also doubles as a small spear._

_vod'ika = little brother_

_ad'ika = little one_

_gedet'ye = please_

_eleck = yes_

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_buir = papa (father)_

_ner = my_

_vod = brother_

_yaihadla = pregnant_

_Mando'a = language of the Mandalorians_

_aruetiise = non-Mandalorians_

_Jetii = Jedi_

_beskar'gam = Mandalorian armor (literally, iron skin)_

_di'kutla = moronic_

_Please R&R._


	17. Evac

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big thanks to wfolk, LadyZelthePen, Delta808th, Kelana-ti, and emjalen for reviewing!  
_

_Don't forget to review! Tell me your thoughts on this chapter and I'll send you a sneak peek of the next one. :)_

* * *

"Understood, General," Rex broke off the link with Skywalker as he took a stance to the right of and slightly behind Ahsoka. Her dual lightsabers whirled, deflecting shots back at the droids as he fired his pistols, "Commander, General Skywalker wants us to assist Fives and Teroch. He'll handle things here," he shouted over the din of battle.

"Got it, Rex," she grunted as she charged the droid line. Rex followed close behind, watching her back for her. As soon as they were through, they kept running. Thankfully the clankers were too stupid to be concerned with what looked like just two stragglers.

As soon as they were in the clear, Ahsoka crouched and he followed her lead. They approached the fortress behind the cover of several large moss-covered boulders and the Captain wasn't too happy with what he saw when they were finally within view of the place. Fives, being a complete idiot, was out in the middle of the field and too far from any sort of cover. The ARC was trying to dodge heavy cannon fire while it looked like Jesse and his squad were busying themselves with setting charges at the main gate of the fortress.

"I've got Fives, Rexter. You help Jesse out." He nodded, even though he could care less for the plan. Even though Ahsoka was the one better suited to get the ARC Trooper out of the sticky situation he'd gotten himself into, Rex still didn't like the idea of her putting herself in that much danger. _I can't think about it right now. And Commander Tano's proven herself more than capable. She can do this._ But he still couldn't shake the proverbial bad feeling.

Ahsoka gave him a brief smile, picking up on his mood, "I'll be careful if _you_ are too, 'kay?" With that, she raced to Fives' position, her green saber and yellow shoto clearly getting the droids' attention. As Rex ran to join Teroch Squad, the sensors in his bucket told him that the droids' heavy cannons were targeting Ahsoka and ignoring the clones completely. _I'll be careful if _you_ are, Ahsoka._

Jesse maintained his defensive stance, blaster at the ready, as Rex joined him and his squad, "You're late, sir."

"Yeah, Cap, we're almost done." Rex didn't bother to reprimand Cooper, who was also in a defensive stance, for the lack of respect. _Now's not the time to correct a shiny's manners._

"Good to hear, how much left to do?"

Hotshot didn't bother looking up from the long red and white string he was attaching to the seam of the fortress's main door, "As soon as Chip and I get these dets here attached, we're good to go, sir."

* * *

Fives had never really worked one on one with Commander Tano before, and he couldn't help but admire how naturally she adjusted her fighting stance to match his. They'd taken cover in a trench he'd literally stumbled faceplate first into moments before, now both ducking as the heavy cannons fired. Then deflecting and returning fire from the clankers lined up on the top of the wall.

"Got any dets on you, Fives?" Commander Tano managed to ask as she deflected yet another shot. _Those tinnies' may be the dumbest things in the galaxy, but they sure do know how to shoot, I'll give them that._

"Yes, ma'am," he answered back. Commander Tano just gave him a look at the title, but he busied himself with pulling out a thermal det from one the pouches at his belt. Sky had long since broke him of using 'sir' for a female officer. Come to think of it, she'd broken _all_ of her boys, including the ones that she'd cross-trained, of it too.

"Get ready to throw it on my mark."

"But, Commander, that's out-"

"I'll give you some help. Now, Fives!" He lobbed the grenade and just as it began to arc back down towards the ground, it jumped back up and slammed into the heavy cannon closest to Teroch and Rex's position.

* * *

There was the sound of an explosion coming from the wall above them and Rex and Teroch instantly ducked. Fives' voice came through their helmets, "The tinnies' main cannon is down. Commander Tano and I are working on the others. Just thought you should know."

"Thanks for telling us that _after_ it practically explodes over our heads, Fives," Cooper shot back sarcastically. The remark sounded like something Sergeant Cordav would say. _Well, Teroch was cross-trained by her. I've got to remember that._

"That's it," Chip's voice came over the link as he and Hotshot took a few steps back. "Done."

Rex nodded, opening the link to Ahsoka's com, "Dets are set and armed, Commander."

"I'll keep the clankers distracted, Rex. Be quick!"

"Yes, sir!" He couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly Teroch bugged out of there. The squad reached the cover of the nearest trench a full three seconds before he did. But then again, commandos, even ones who were formerly troopers, were different from soldiers. On a completely different level that was all their own. But he didn't have much time to think on it as the sounds of battle drew closer to the fortress and Hotshot set off the dets.

* * *

_I think Hotshot used a little too much_, Fives thought as the ground shook so hard from the explosion that he and the Commander were almost knocked off of their feet. _Talk about P for Plenty._ Clankers came pouring out of the huge gaping hole in the fortress wall and Fives pulled the Commander down with him as he ducked yet again.

It wasn't lost on him that the two of them were _much_ closer to the advancing droids than Rex and Teroch. And even though he could hear the battle that the rest of Torrent was fighting, he had no way of knowing how close the company was, "General Skywalker had better hurry up, or this might just be our last stand, Commander." _Sky, Tea, little one. I don't see a way out of this, but I promise I'm not giving up._

"He's not too far. Have some faith, Fives." _Easy for you to say. You don't have a spouse and kids waiting for you back home._

The clanking noise of the droids came closer and Fives' heart sank as tinnies jumped down into their trench, surrounding them. _This is great. _Osik_! This is just wonderful._

"Fives! Look out!" Commander Tano pushed him so hard that his back hit the dirt wall and she stood defensively in front of him. Her lightsabers blurring as she blocked shots and he managed to take out a few droids himself. The trench was becoming littered with downed droids and their parts when Fives spotted it. A commando droid's head peered over the lip of the trench along with the muzzle of the clanker's sniper rifle. Aiming right at Ahsoka Tano.

"Ma'am! Duck!" He tried to pull her out of the way of the shot, but her bloodcurdling scream told him that he was too late. "Commander!"

* * *

General Skywalker and the rest of Torrent had just engaged the droids from the fortress when Rex heard it. A sound that made his heart stop and his blood run cold. A young woman's piercing cry of pain. _Ahsoka!_ Without making a conscious decision, he took off at a dead run to the trench where she'd taken shelter with Fives, completely heedless of the blaster bolts flying around him. A commando droid at the edge of the trench was pulling itself up to it's feet and he shot it point blank in the chest piece before jumping down into the trench himself. No droids followed him and he didn't even realize that his company was now surrounding the trench. His eyes were on Ahsoka, who was lying still in Fives' shaking arms. She'd taken a sniper round to the stomach. _No! No, no, no!_

He took her from Fives, ignoring the other man completely as he checked his Commander's vitals. Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse was faint. "Hold on, Ahsoka," he whispered, choking on his own words.

Fives' voice finally broke through the haze of Rex's fear for the young woman in his arms, "General, we need an evac! _Now_! Commander Tano's been hit! I don't know how much longer she can hold on..."

* * *

Fives didn't bother knocking. He opened the door to Rex's quarters and found exactly what he'd been expecting ever since he saw Rex delicately cradling the Commander's limp form in that trench. The Captain, stripped to his bodysuit with his armor strewn haphazardly around the small room, was pacing back and forth. Not even noticing that Fives was standing in his doorway. The scene reminded him of how much of a mess he himself had been when Sky had been stabbed, when she'd slipped into that coma. _He cares for her. Why didn't I see that before?_

"Rex?" No response. The Captain just continued his frantic pacing. "Rex!"

The blond man finally froze, looking completely disoriented, "Fives? How long have you been standing there?"

The ARC Trooper stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms, "Long enough. You really care about her, don't you?"

"She's our commanding _officer_," Rex said, putting too much emphasis on that last word. "Of course I care about her."

"I'm not stupid, Rex. But I _am_ a married man. This," Fives motioned with his gloved hand to the seemingly discarded kit and unmade bunk, "is almost _exactly_ the way _I_ acted when we thought Sky wasn't going to make it."

Rex sighed, running both hands over his face, "You're right. I'm sorry, Fives, I shouldn't have lectured you-"

The tattooed clone shook his head, "I'm not here for that, Rex. When Sky was in that medcenter, her family was there for me. I just figured that you'd probably like some company."

Rex turned away and didn't answer, not right away. He sat on the bed, clasping and unclasping his hands and keeping his gaze on the floor. Fives settled on the bunk beside him, just waiting silently. "Why her, Fives? Why Ahsoka?"

"I can't tell you that. All I can say is what you already know, Rex. This is war, people are _going_ to get hurt. Even the people we love."

Rex nodded, still not meeting his gaze. _I've _never_ seen him like this._

"What gets me, is that I can't even _stay_ with her. I'm no Jedi, I'm not her master. I'm just a clone captain with a curfew." Fives nodded, remembering when Yularan had given that order. All of Torrent Company, except for those who were already being treated in the _Resolute_'s medbay, had literally swamped the place trying to see how their Commander was doing. The Admiral had declared a curfew to keep the boys from accidentally interfering with the medical droids' jobs.

"Well, it's a good thing you know a Mando-trained ARC trooper, huh?"

Rex finally met his gaze, his own expression one of disbelief, "You'd do that?"

"How the _haran_ did you think I got in here?"

* * *

_osik = crap_

_haran = hell_

_I apologize if the action sequences fell flat. I'm more comfortable writing emotional stuff. I sincerely hope ya'll liked it._

_And no, I'm not going to kill Ahsoka. :)_

_Please R&R._


	18. Visits

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_And thank you, thank you, thank you to my amazing beta... emjalen! Your input really streamlined this chapter and thanks for putting up with me. ;)_

_Big thanks to emjalen, Kelana-ti, LongLiveTheClones, Delta808th, Vadersfist501, and LadyZelthePen for reviewing!  
_

_Be sure to leave a review telling me your thoughts and I'll send you a sneak peek of the next chapter!  
_

* * *

After sneaking behind the ARC Trooper all the way from his quarters to the medbay, Rex was stopped from entering Ahsoka's quarters by Fives' hand on his arm, "What is it, Fives?" He was careful to keep his voice low, so as not to disturb the men sleeping in the main room of the medbay where they currently stood.

The ARC Trooper shifted uncertainly, "I didn't want to bother you with this now, Rex, but it's something that you need to know."

"Well, what is it?"

Rex thought that Fives was about to give him some advice, like 'take care of Commander Tano', or something like that. He wasn't expecting what came out of his brother's mouth.

"Several months ago, Beta was on a mission. Kot ran out of ammo and Top gave him some spares."

"I don't see how that-"

"Not finished. The spares didn't come from Top's kit. He'd picked them up from the droids they'd already killed. And they fit Beta's weapons perfectly. I noticed the same thing earlier with my own blasters."

"Why didn't your wife mention this sooner?" Fives shushed him as he looked around in panic, trying to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. Their brothers were all still sleeping peacefully.

"_Sergeant Cordav_ didn't mention anything because she hoped that it was an isolated incident. It's not."

Rex sighed, crossing his arms and tried not to let his irritation show as he glanced impatiently at the door. He _really_ wanted to be at Ahsoka's side, not discussing the war, but this was just as important. "That means that one of our suppliers is double-dealing. I'll talk with General Skywalker and the Admiral about in the morning."

Fives nodded before positioning himself in front of the door's control panel. He keyed in a code they shouldn't have needed, and the door to Ahsoka's room hissed open quietly. _Yularin actually tried to lock us out..._ That struck him as odd. Were his brothers really interfering that much? His thoughts drifted back to the time that Gabe's life had been threatened by a med droid. _Except Ahsoka's not a clone. She'll be fine. I hope..._ "Where did you get-"

"Sky's very close to the Nulls."

"Ah."

_That explains it. Those six are very well known for doing as they please. Just like I'm doing right now... But this isn't life or death. It isn't even an ethical issue. I just need to see her, to make sure that she'll be okay._

Rex glanced into the room, his heart in his throat at the sight of Ahsoka lying so still on the bed, an oxygen mask over her pale face. The monitors connected to her weren't giving any negative readings, which eased his worry somewhat. Forgetting for a moment that Fives was watching him, he took a step into the still room and stiffened when he saw that he wasn't the only one visiting the young Togruta woman. General Skywalker was reclined in a chair on the other side of the bed and it looked like he'd been asleep for a while.

Rex turned his head back towards the doorway to thank Fives, but the other clone was gone. He stepped back out of the room, scanning the medbay for his brother, but he was nowhere in sight.

_As long as I stay quiet, General Skywalker will never know that I was in here._

Taking great care to keep his steps silent, the Captain walked to Ahsoka's left side, thankful that Fives had adamantly refused to take him anywhere until he'd changed into his fatigues first. It wouldn't do if the General did wake up and saw him in just his bodysuit. _Wouldn't do at all._

He thought about pulling up the chair, but, as he glanced up to make sure that the General was still sleeping on Ahsoka's other side, he decided against doing so. _Not worth the risk. If he wakes up..._

Instead, Rex bent over the Togruta girl's still form, pressing his fingers to her wrist as gently as he could, preferring to believe his own intuition over the machines. He let out a sigh of relief when he found that her pulse was much stronger than it had been on the battlefield, and slipped his hand down further so that he could grasp her fingers in his.

"Ahsoka?" he whispered. He paused in an effort to gather his thoughts. He'd finally settled on 'don't you ever scare me like that again' when he felt her fingers tightening around his. Her eyelids fluttered and he held his breath.

"Rex?" she asked, her voice so low that he could barely hear her. _She sounds so weak._

He brushed his other hand over her temple lightly. "I'm here," he answered, careful to keep his voice at a whisper. Skywalker snored, almost making Rex jump. He watched the other man for a few seconds to make sure that the General wasn't about to wake up, then turned back to Ahsoka, only to find her bright blue eyes watching him.

"What happened, Rexter? What am I doing here?" Her voice had gathered a little strength, but he shushed her gently.

"Take it easy, little 'un. You were shot defending Fives. If we hadn't got you here in time..." he trailed off, finding himself incapable of saying the words. To think that she'd almost died right there in his arms... _Can't dwell on it. I just can't._

"Is Fives okay? And Master Skywalker?"

Her expression became panicked and Rex soothingly ran his fingers over her lekku and squeezed her hand as reassuringly as he could. "They're fine." He jerked his head toward the still sleeping General. Her gaze rested on her master before returning to him. "And, before you ask, we did win. We lost a lot of good men, but we won."

_Not that winning's any comfort._

She nodded, her expression telling him that she didn't find much comfort in the victory either. He'd tell her who was lost once she'd recovered more. Her eyes fluttered as she fought to keep them open, "I'm sorry I scared you, Rexter."

Rex was about to deny that, but decided against it. There was no point in avoiding how he felt anymore. _Fives is right, I do care about her. More than I'd thought. _"I would tell you to never do that to me again, but something tells me that you probably wouldn't listen," he said, making an effort to keep his voice light.

_There's no need for her to know just how scared I really was. Not now, at least. Later, when it's just the two of us._

She smiled at him as her eyes closed and her breathing deepened. For several minutes, the blonde clone watched as she slept.

Rex gently pried his fingers from hers' and began the trip back to his quarters. Finally looking forward to getting some much needed sleep now that he knew that his commander was going to be alright.

* * *

Skylar, Tea curled up next to her as Zephyr had taken over the little girl's room, was awakened by the sound of her comlink going off. She snatched it off the nightstand and opened the link, hoping that the blaring sound hadn't disturbed her little girl. Her daughter continued sleeping and Skylar breathed a sigh of relief as she carefully slipped off the bed, "_F'ika_? It's almost," she glanced at the chronometer on her bedside table, "0400 here. What's going on?"

"_I needed to tell you that I love you, cyar'ika_." There was no masking the desperation in her husband's voice.

Skylar gasped. "_Gedet'ye_ tell me that you're not hurt, Fives."

"_I'm fine, I'm okay. I promise. I just... Commander Tano was shot and_-"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"_Rex says that she is, but the entire situation reminds me of when you_-"

"I'm fine, _cyar'ika_," she cut in before he could get himself worked up. "We all are."

"_Even the baby?_"

"_Especially_ the baby. I'm already starting to show, just a little. He or she's growing fast, babe." She laid a hand on the very slight curve of her belly.

"_Not too fast, right?_"

Skylar knew what her husband was thinking. Even though Fives was excited about their youngest, he was worried about the baby inheriting his aging. Thankfully her medic had assured her that everything was proceeding normally. Although that was good news, living with the knowledge that her husband probably wouldn't live to see their kids all grown up hung over Skylar like a threatening shadow.

_We've got to find a way to fix this. I wish Kal would let me in on his plans._

She tried to keep her fear for him out of her voice. No sense in worrying Fives for no reason. "No, everything's fine. Aside from the fact that we miss you."

Fives sighed, "_I know, I miss you too._" There was the sound of a door hissing open and some murmured words before he continued. It sounded like he'd been speaking with Rex. "_I've got to go. Love you. Tell our girl that I love her._"

_Rex knows about us then, since Fives seems to be okay with saying stuff like that in front of him._

"I love you too, F'ika. And I will."

* * *

Later on that morning, Skylar sat in her office at Arca Barracks, a cup of blue milk in front of her instead of her usual cup of caf. Even though she was on maternity leave, she couldn't bear to be separated from her boys that long. Most of the men she knew didn't have the luxury of being able to visit her at the apartment. The men she'd befriended after the war began wouldn't understand why she allowed her boys to have relationships.

_In my personal opinion, having girls that love them would be good for these boys. _Not that the _Tsad Droten_ would ever consider listening to her logic.

There was a knock on the door and she immediately stood, grabbing her flute. Most of the people in the Barracks would com her before showing up at her office. Vau was usually the one who didn't, and he was the one training sergeant that, although she respected him, she just couldn't get along with him.

The door opened but it was Kal Skirata who strode into her office, not Vau. Aside from the fact that the middle-aged man's limp was gone, not much had changed about him. The commando who came in behind the older mercenary carried himself in much the same way that Kal did, making it clear that he was one of Skirata's trainees. _He's a little too thin for a Null, though._ The six special ops troopers were the first of the GAR's clones, therefore the _kaminiise_ had tampered with their DNA a _lot_ more than they had with the rest. Ordo and his brothers were burlier than the average clone.

Kal raised an eyebrow at her and she relaxed her stance, laying her flute on her desk, "Sorry, _Ba'vodu_. I thought you might be Walon."

"The two of you _still_ haven't settled your differences yet?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's rich, coming from the man who I thought _hated_ his guts."

Skirata chuckled. "Not so much anymore. There's a lot more to Vau than we'd thought, apparently. Not that I completely trust him myself."

"That abusive _di'kut_? Whatever you say..."

Her eyes drifted to the commando, whose honey brown eyes were glued to her stomach. Cordav preferred skin-tight shirts, and she was well aware that they showcased her pregnancy, even though she was barely showing. She cleared her throat and the clone met her eyes, looking embarrassed. She extended her hand towards him and he took it. "Skylar Cordav. But you can call me 'Sky'."

"Niner," the man responded. _Omega's sergeant. And a stickler for the rules._ "I hear congratulations are in order. How far along are you?"

She smiled at him. "_Vor entye_,_ ner vod'ika_. And two months."

Skylar looked back and forth between the two men, hoping against hope that they wouldn't ask who the father was. Judging by the way Kal was eyeing her, the older man already knew. _Please don't chew me out. I can't deal with it, especially since my Fives isn't here._

"So..." Kal started off, meeting her eyes directly. _He's not glaring, so that's something. _He motioned to Niner who nodded. The commando left, shutting the door behind him. "When were you planning on telling me?"

"As soon as I could talk to you in person, Kal. You're basically my uncle, so I figured that would be better than telling you over a com." She stiffened, watching her adopted uncle warily, "And, by the way Niner was staring, he knows about me and Fives too, huh?" She was too much of a warrior to let her panic show on her face, but Skylar _knew_ that Kal could see it in her eyes.

"Well, I didn't see any point in hiding it from him or Omega." No mention of the Nulls. They would have figured it out on their own anyway. "Mereel opened his big mouth in front of them." _I knew it._ The older man gave a sigh as he ran a hand over his close cropped hair, "And Dar has a son he doesn't know about."

Sky sure as _haran _wasn't expecting that little piece of information! Apparently, Kal had been hiding a lot more than just what he and the Nulls had done with Ko Sai, the Kaminoan's former head scientist. Or rather, what they had done with the _rest_ of her as Delta had brought just her head back to Coruscant several months ago. _He's done a _shabla_ good of hiding that from me. No way in the _manda_ would I have expected one of his boys being a father... I wonder who the mother is..._

_Wait a minute. Darman doesn't know that he's got a kid?  
_

* * *

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_gedet'ye = please_

_Tsad Droten = Republic_

_kaminiise = Kaminoans_

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_di'kut = moron_

_vor entye = thank you_

_ner = my_

_vod'ika = little brother_

_haran = hell_

_manda = heaven_

_Please R&R._


	19. Trust

_Star Wars doesn't belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Big, big thanks to the wonderful emjalen for beta reading! Couldn't have done it without you. :)  
_

_And thanks to my amazing reviewers: Vadersfist501st, Kelana-ti, Delta808th, LadyZelthePen, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

_For some odd reason, every time I try to type 'medbay' my fingers want to spell out 'medbaby'. They have a mind of their own, I swear... :P_

_The 'nerf guts prank' is told in my one-shot_ Ni Partayli_._

* * *

"And _why _doesn't Darman know about his own _son_? Wouldn't he have noticed the changes in his girlfriend over the past nine months?" Skylar kept her voice carefully controlled. Devrin had christened that tone her 'deadly voice' on account that she only used it when she was royally pissed.

"Six months, actually. Etain kind of 'helped' her pregnancy along." Skirata looked ashamed of himself. _As he should be._ Darman was a member of Omega Squad, and one of the boys that Skirata had trained on Kamino. Kal, like her father had, treated his men like his own sons. _Except he never adopted any of them, but that's a moot point. _Ba'vodu_'s the only father his boys ever had, and a father should _never_ hide his son's children from them. I don't care what his excuse is._

_And Etain. General Tur-Mukan? Wow, that boy sure knows how to reach high. Wait a minute...six months. That explains why Tur-Mukan was on Qiilura for so long. _She'd met the woman a few times and had begun to respect the _Jetii _enough to keep an eye on her, therefore, she knew that the female general's mission to the backwater planet had ended a while ago. _Which means that the baby's not really a newborn anymore..._

"How old is the boy?" Not once did she let her voice waver out of control, not once did she allow her features to show the anger that was boiling in her blood. _No one should ever be kept in the dark about their own child. Clone or not._

"A few months." Her uncle was watching her warily. "You have to understand, Sky. Dar isn't exactly ready for kids. He's a soldier and still a boy-"

"So? Fives is _younger_ than your boys _and_ my brothers. When he married me, my husband also took on a child that wasn't his own. If an _eleven year old_ can do that, then a _twelve year old_ is very capable of the same, Kal. But you'll never know that because you won't even give him the _chance_." By the time she'd finished her tirade, she'd moved close enough to poke her finger against his armored chest.

Skirata narrowed his eyes at her, "It's not that, Skylar Cordav. Darman can hold a child, but that doesn't mean he's ready for parenthood or that he won't be distracted on the battlefield. Don't think I take pleasure in hiding this from my son. It's just for his own good."

Skylar hadn't heard the last half of what he'd just said as her mind was still trying to make sense of what he'd said first, "What do you mean, 'Darman can hold a child'?"

"I introduced Kad to the boys... as my grandson."

This time, there was no concealing her fury.

"You did _what_?"

* * *

Several hours later, and Skylar was still stewing. _I can't believe _Ba'vodu_ did that! _The very fact that her uncle, a man she _trusted_, had let Darman hold his newborn son and didn't tell the commando who the boy was made her so _shabla_ furious. _He told Dar a half-truth instead. As far as I'm concerned, a half-truth is just as bad an outright lie. _Shab_, just when you think you know a person._

Then there was a knock on her office door. _Whoever that is, he'd better get his _shebs_ away from my door if he knows what's good for him. _She tried to ignore the knocking, but it was persistent. And only her brothers could be that annoying.

She pressed a button on her desk, not even looking up as the door whooshed open, "Doz, I _swear_, if you're trying to plan some ridiculous prank-"

"Last I checked, I wasn't a commando."

Skylar jerked her head, giving the clone a mock glare, "You're really not much of a Null either. Can't even keep a secret."

Mereel tilted his head, giving her an impish grin as the door closed behind him. That was the kind of look that normally had shallow women swooning at his feet. It had never worked on her. She never let on, but she knew that Mereel had played a part in the nerf guts prank that Devrin had played on her so many years ago.

She stood and the Null pulled her into one of his bear hugs, "Sorry, Sky. I thought they already knew." He pulled away, "I mean, most of the boys here have already figured out that you've got a soft spot for that ARC Trooper."

"And most of them keep their mouths shut. I see you haven't inherited your father's ability to keep the truth hidden..." she trailed off, her sour mood very evident in her voice and expression.

Mereel winced, leaning against the door, "_Buir_ mentioned that he told you about _Kad'ika_."

"Did he also tell you that I gave him _haran_ for it? And an ultimatum?"

"That he has a year to tell Darman or you'll do it yourself? Yeah, he wasn't too happy about it, but he understands where you're coming from. Even if it won't change his mind... He'll tell Dar about _Kad'ika_ when he thinks the time's right. Trust me, Sky, you don't want to get into it with _Buir_."

Skylar sighed, slumping into her chair, "I know, Mereel. But this isn't right." _And I don't blame you for following your father's _di'kutla_ decisions. I'm just worried about what's going to happen when Darman finds out that Kad's his. _"Fine, I won't say anything. But you tell your Buir to expect all of _haran_ to break loose when the _osik_ finally hits the fan." _As much as I _want_ to make Kal tell Dar, Mereel's right. _Ba'vodu_'s gonna do what's he's gonna do and he'll do it in his own time. It's not worth creating a rift and suffering from the backlash. That, and my stress levels are already sky high right now._

_But none of that changes how I feel about this_ shabla_ mess_... Needless to say, she didn't trust Kal Skirata as much as she had before.

* * *

A month had passed since Kot had rescued Zephyr from _Gaon's_ and now he was finally fitted with a prosthetic. He flexed his fingers as he sat at the kitchen table, marveling at how normal they felt and looked with the synthflesh on. _It doesn't even look like I was missing an arm._

Zephyr came into the kitchen and froze in the doorway. He offered her a small smile, but the four month pregnant Wroonian girl just stared at him, eyes wide. He almost rolled his own eyes, but managed to keep from doing so. _It's not her fault. She's not used to seeing me with two hands. _Zephyr still hadn't recovered from the nightmare that Gaon and Cales had put her through. She barely flinched around him and the regulars at the apartment anymore, but if one detail was changed, like the furniture being rearranged or a non-regular showing up at the apartment, it took a lot of coaxing to calm her back down. Usually, he was the only one who could do it.

"It's me, Zeph." He peeled back the synthflesh of his left forearm, "See? It's just a prosthetic. It's not gonna hurt you."

She placed a hand protectively on her belly, which had grown significantly in the past month, "I know, Kot. It's just-"

I know," he smiled, patting the seat next to him and having a hard time keeping his gaze away from her stomach. Zephyr and Skylar's pregnancies fascinated Kot and he found himself looking forward to meeting the two babies. _Five more months before the first one comes. I don't think I can wait that long._ Being an uncle was a blessing he'd never expected to have in the first place. Hearing Tea call him by that name was one of the many things in this family that made him feel like he mattered.

Zephyr eased herself into the chair, breathing a sigh of relief as she made herself comfortable.

"Your back okay?" Kot asked, knowing that a three month pregnant Skylar had been complaining of the very thing only the day before. He figured that pregnant humanoid women would probably suffer from the same symptoms.

"My back's fine, it's my feet that are killing me," she answered, wincing. _I stand corrected._

"Kot?" her voice took on a frightened note that he hadn't heard since that night at the bar. He met her gaze in time to see that her yellow eyes were watering. "Do you really have to go tomorrow?"

The commando nodded soberly, "Yes. My brothers need me, Zeph."

"You'll be careful, won't you?" A small tear tracked its way down her blue cheek as she looked at him.

Kot reached up to wipe the tear away and she flinched again, but she allowed his thumb to caress her face. _This is better than it was before, though_, he thought as he rested his right hand on her cheek. _She's actually allowing me to touch her now. That's gotta be a good sign, right?_

"I'm always careful, Zephyr," Kot responded as reassuringly as he could, his brown gaze not once wavering from her.

* * *

"Hi, Daddy! " little Teanna called, waving excitedly at the holoimage of her daddy.

Fives chuckled, waving back, "_Hey, Squirt. You been good for your mother?"_

"Mmhm. But I still don't get why I have to have a baby brother or sister. Isn't just us three okay, Daddy?"

"You'll change your mind when the baby gets here, _T'ika_," Mama said gently.

"_Think of all the ways you can help, ad'ika_," Daddy said. "_And I have no doubt that baby will love you just as much as we do_."

The little Togruta squinted at him, her expression turning to a glare when he chuckled, "You sure?"

"_I would never lie to you, Squirt. You know that._"

While she knew that Daddy was telling her the truth, Tea still thought that her parents were not thinking straight. Why would they have another kid when they said that she was the best daughter ever? It just didn't make sense to her.

"About the baby, _cyar'ika_," Mama said, giving Daddy one of those gooey looks. _Gross. _Her mother stood, moving closer to the comlink that was perched on the dresser, "He or she's grown quite a bit. Want to see?"

"_Still not too fast, right?_"

"Right," Mama said turning to the side so that Daddy could see her stomach. Or 'baby belly', as Aunt Deena had called it. Mama's belly was smaller than Zephyr's, but it was very obvious that there was a baby in there too.

Her father's face turned sad, "_I wish I could be there with you two. I mean, three._"

"Just one more month, Daddy. You still got my Tooka?"

Daddy chuckled, holding up the toy for her to see, "_Sure do. And you know what, Squirt?_"

"What?"

"_You were right, she kept away the bad dreams. Just like you said_," he finished, winking at her.

"Speaking of bad dreams, how's Commander Tano doing?" Mama asked as she sat back down on the bed and pulled Tea onto her lap.

"_She's fine. Almost completely recovered. Kix is having a hard time keeping her in the medbay. Aside from General Skywalker, Rex is the only one she really listens to, you know._"

"Does she like Uncle Rex, Daddy?"

"_That's a very good question, Tea._"

* * *

_ba'vodu = uncle_

_Jetii = Jedi_

_shebs = backside_

_buir = papa_

_haran = hell_

_di'kutla = stupid_

_osik = crap_

_ad'ika = little one_

_cyar'ika = little one_

_Please R&R._


	20. Cin Vhetin

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Sky & Co._

_A humongous thanks to emjalen for beta reading! Your help has greatly improved my writing. :)_

_Big thanks to my amazing reviewers: Delta808th, Vadersfist501, Kelana-ti, emjalen, and a guest!_

_And I'm really sorry for taking so long guys._

* * *

Thanks to much pressuring on Tessa's part, Kenna found herself actually allowing Wreck into her apartment- the very same apartment they had shared before she'd divorced him. She hadn't changed much of it since she'd chased him out and he noticed.

Wreck just stood there in the doorway, taking it all in. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but then he shut it, wisely keeping quiet.

"Dada! Dada!" little Griff cried, interrupting the awkward moment as he crawled as fast as he could out of the den with Tessa right behind him.

The clone beamed as he scooped the little boy up, "Hey there, ad'ika. Dada really missed you," he added, kissing the baby's forehead.

Kenna just stood there, watching them so intently that she jumped when Tessa cleared her throat right behind her. She turned and her aunt gave her a pointed look. "Don't just stand there, sweetheart," Tessa whispered, before turning and disappearing in the direction of the kitchen.

"Wreck?"

"Yeah, Kenny?"

She winced at the nickname, "Um, would you like to come sit? You must be tired. I mean," she cleared her throat, not meeting his eyes, "You did _just_ get back."

"Uh, okay. You sure I'm not intruding, Kenna?" the commando asked, his brown eyes searching her face sadly.

_Yes and no. Griff needs you, but I'm still not sure that I'm ready to have you __**here**__. You really hurt me, you know that?_

"I-it's fine. R-really."

His eyes told her that he saw right through her. However, being the tactful Wreck that she'd first met, he again elected not to say anything.

Griff, not aware of the tension between his parents, was babbling a hundred kilometers a second at his father. Wreck shifted the baby in his arms as he followed Kenna into the den.

"Kenna, what's that?" Wreck asked, inclining his head towards the nebulizer sitting beside the sofa, his hands busy holding their son in his lap.

"Griff's breathing treatment."

He froze in the middle of making faces at the baby, his head snapping up to meet her gaze, "Treatment? What do you mean 'breathing treatment'? Kenna, what-?" he froze when little Griff, who'd over-excited himself, started wheezing. "Kenna!"

With the ease of much practice, Kenna pulled the nebulizer out and plugged it into the nearest power source. As she tried to ignore the terror-inducing sound of her son's wheezes, the Kiffar woman quickly poured Griff's medicine into the machine, turning it on and placing the breath-mask over the baby's face. She breathed a sigh of relief as Griff's breathing slowly returned to normal. _Thank the Force. We caught it just in time._

Wreck, however, still looked tense, his face scared, "Kenny, what was that?"

She closed her eyes. "Griff has asthma, Wreck. And he's physically delayed. His medic told me that it's because-"

"Because he was born too early," the commando finished, horrified at himself. He clutched their son closer to his chest, "This is all my fault."

And Kenna couldn't bear to see him like that. Seeing his concern for their son made her realize how wrong she'd been to kick him out of her life so quickly.

_If only I'd given him a few more days he might have come to see me and Griff. I knew that he had no real family experience, yet I expected him to... Fierfek, what have I done?_

"Wreck, I... Wreck, it was me who started that fight, not you." _I was wrong to hate him. Yes, he said those things. Yes, he scared me. But __**I**__ was the one who was looking for a fight. _"I should've talked with you. I... I was wrong to yell at you like that. You didn't... didn't know what you were doing anymore than I did. I-"

One arm still securely wrapped around Griff, Wreck reached forward and brushed her tears away. "That may be, Kenny. But that doesn't change the fact that I _almost hit you_." He sniffed, his own eyes watering, "I can't change what I did but... I'm so sorry, _cyar'ika_."

Kenna reached up and traced her fingers over his cheek, "Me too. I'm sorry I t-treated you like that. I should h-have realized you were hurting t-too. It was w-wrong of m-me to kick you out."_ I was only holding a grudge because I didn't want to admit to myself that I was in the wrong too. Force, what have I done?_

"Kenna Trivolo. Don't you dare apologize. You have nothing to be sorry about."

_It has to be now, whether I feel ready or not. With this stupid war going on, I may never get the chance to talk with him again._

She took a deep, steadying breath. "_Cin vhetin_."

Wreck's eyes widened at the _Mando'a_ words as she gazed at him uncertainly. She cleared her throat yet again, "Clean slate, right? Isn't that what your sister likes to say?"

There was no doubting the incredulity in his voice as he spoke, "After all I put you through, are you saying that you want to start again?"

"Yes," she sniffed. "But not back to where we were. There's a l-lot of things-"

"That we need to work on. Okay, _Cin vhetin _it is. It's nice to meet you and Griff, Miss Kenna."

Despite the tears still running down her cheeks, Kenna chuckled softly as she took his offered hand. _This will never be like it used to be, and it will take quite a while for me to trust him as much as I used to. But, at least things are starting to look up._

_I only hope that I'm not making the wrong choice..._

* * *

Zephyr sat on the edge of Kot's bed, one hand resting on the bulge of her stomach as she watched Beta pack their kit. Hew, Top, and Doz had all of their armor plates on and their helmets clipped to their belts while Kot's upper body plates and bucket were still waiting on his bed next to her. From the waist up Kot's bodysuit showed his clearly defined musculature, but that wasn't why the Wroonian girl's focus was on the commando.

As he packed his kit, Kot kept glancing at her with worry in his eyes. He was clearly expecting her to burst into tears at any moment which wasn't too far off the mark as she could feel her eyes beginning to water. She'd only known him for about a month, but he was the only person in whom she could completely trust. Even if she still occasionally flinched at his touch. _I never thought I'd trust anyone again after Mom died, but Kot proved me wrong._ Now, after a month of him being her constant companion, he was leaving her. She choked back a sob at the thought and Kot's eyes immediately met hers. Zephyr tried to smile to let him know that she was okay, but she didn't fool him. He hesitantly squeezed her shoulder as he turned his gaze to his brothers, "Since you guys are already finished, could you give us a minute?"

Doz looked like he was about to tease them, but Hew and Top both gave their long-haired jokester of a brother stern looks. "No problem," soft-spoken Hew responded, herding the other two out and closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door hissed shut, Kot crouched in front of Zephyr and took both of her hands in his much larger ones. His bright brown eyes looked up at her, "It'll be okay, Zeph. It's not even that long of a mission, we'll be back soon."

Zephyr was so close to tears that she couldn't answer him right away. Trying to keep her composure, she focused on the feeling of his hands holding hers. It amazed her how normal his prosthetic almost felt, but the robotic arm was still strange to her. _I guess it will always be that way. _Whenever she thought about the man in front of her, her mental image of him was _always _missing his left forearm. That was how he'd looked when he'd saved her.

"Zephyr?"

She finally looked up from their clasped hands and into Kot's warm brown irises. His gaze held only concern for her and no fear for himself. Just like always._ I can't believe I doubted him back at Gaon's dump of a bar. _A shiver went up her spine as she thought of that place.

"Zeph, please. _Talk_ to me. Tell me what's wrong."

"Don't leave me." The Wroonian had intended for her voice to be strong, but the plea came out as a strangled whisper. He squeezed her shaking hands as gently as he could, the grip of his left hand still a little too tight as Kot wasn't yet used to the strength of the new limb.

"I'm not, _cyar'ika_." Somewhere in the back of her mind, Zephyr was well aware that Kot had just called her the Mando word for 'sweetheart'. But she was too caught up in trying to figure out how she could make him stay to fully realize that the moment was becoming too intimate. All she could think about was how much she needed him. He'd become her foundation in the past month, a foundation that was about to be pulled right out from under her feet in a matter of minutes.

The thought brought the tears, and they flowed freely down her cheeks, "Y-yes, you a-are."

"I promise, I'll call whenever I get the chance-"

"It's not the same!" she blurted out, almost to the point of yelling. Why couldn't he see how much she needed him with her?

He rocked back slightly, stunned for a moment at her outburst and she realized that she'd never been that loud around him. "K-Kot, I-"

The commando pressed the index finger of his organic hand gently to her lips. "Shhh, it's alright," he murmured gently. "I understand, Zeph. Trust me, I know what it's like to be alone. But you're not alone here, you know that. Sky will still be here. And Deena and Gabe. And-"

"I kn-know," she sniffed as he awkwardly began wiping her tears away. "B-but-"

"I'll miss you too, Zephyr. More than you know."

The door hissed open and Hew stuck his head in, looking apologetic, "I really hate to interrupt, but it's time to go, Kot."

* * *

Skylar sat at her desk, filing reports as she tried to get her mind off of Beta's departure. Saying her goodbyes to her boys was always difficult for her, but this particular goodbye had been closer to heart-wrenching than normal. It had taken her a good twenty minutes to convince Zephyr to release her steel-iron death-grip of Kot's left elbow. The scene had reminded her of the first night she and Hew had met the girl, who'd been holding on to Kot's elbow for dear life that time too.

As soon as Beta had left the apartment, Zephyr had fled up the stairs and into the spare room that all of Skylar's boys used when they were on leave. Skylar had followed her, finding the teenager curled up on Kot's bed, his pillow clutched to her chest. She'd tried to consult the hysterical girl without much luck and had ended up deciding to just let Zephyr cry herself out.

_Those boys better make it back alive. For my sake just as much Zephyr's._

"_Sergeant_," a clone's voice spoke, pulling her out of her thoughts. Skylar had been so out of it that it took her a moment to realize that the voice was emanating from her desk comlink. By the time she'd figured that out, Maze was already getting irritated, "_Sergeant Cordav, I know you're in your office. I would appreciate it if you would at least consider answering me._" The surly captain hadn't even bothered to identify himself. As soon as she'd entered the _Tsad Droten_'s employ about two years ago, the clones that weren't her brothers had learned real quick that she wasn't like a civvie. How many civilians could tell clones apart just by listening to them talk?

Skylar rolled her eyes at his threatening tone, "Hold your eopies, Captain. Is there something I can help you with, sir?" She didn't bother to even try to tell him to call her by her nickname. The last time she'd suggested he do so, he'd stubbornly refused to. _And he's the only clone who continually insists on calling me by my _shabla_ title. _It was starting to get annoying.

Which was why she couldn't resist adding, "Keep in mind that I can't do much, seeing as I'm on maternity leave, sir." Even though the statement wasn't necessary, the young woman thoroughly enjoyed how easily it threw most clones for a loop. Maze had been the first soldier outside of her family to learn of her condition, but the words 'maternity' and 'pregnant' still made him pause even now.

Skylar chuckled to herself as the old iceberg on legs took his time to answer her. "_I'm well aware of that, Sergeant. You have a visitor._"

"Really, who?"

Maze wasn't one to beat around the bush, and he certainly didn't show any signs of starting to do so now. "_A lieutenant by the name of Lyle._"

* * *

_cyar'ika = sweetheart_

_Cin vhetin = Fresh field of virgin snow. (Mando version of 'clean slate'.)_

_Mando'a = Mandalorian language_

_Tsad Droten = Republic_

_Please R&R._


	21. Suspicions

_Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co._

_Be forewarned. I've been reading Sherlock Holmes lately, so this chapter may have the feeling of a top-rate detective novel. :P_

_And a big thanks to Vadersfist501st, Kelana-ti, Delta808th, emjalen, and Guest! You guys are just plain awesome!_

_Big thanks to emjalen for beta-reading this. :)_

* * *

Skylar couldn't help but offer the lieutenant another smile as he removed his _buy'ce_. It had been several months since she'd seen Lyle. _Too long._ "So, anything I can do for you, Lieutenant?"

The red and white armored trooper offered her an easy smile in return, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that something had been bothering him. _It's not the loss of a brother, I know _that _look all to well. Unfortunately._

Lyle seated himself in her other chair, her desk between them, as the door hissed shut. "I thought we were past titles, Sergeant Cordav," he countered, not as easily as was normal for him. _He's lost sleep over this. Whatever 'this' is._

"That we are, Lyle. You look like something's been on your mind for a while now, _ner vod'ika_."

If anything, he looked uneasy, "I've already voiced my concerns to Commander Fox. I've even gone to the Jedi. But none of them will listen to me. Even my brothers think I'm paranoid."

There was no such thing as a paranoid clone. Paranoia was one of the first things that was drilled out of the men on Kamino. Skylar would know, she herself had helped her _Buir_ plan quite a few of said training exercises.

But what happened in her past was neither here nor there. The very thought that the _Jetiise_ weren't listening to the very men who'd bravely fought alongside them for over two years was unsettling. _I've always thought that the _Jetiise_ were a bit on the slow side, but I didn't realize that they could be this _di'kutla_. But then, they didn't grow up with these men. I did._

_That's still no excuse for ignoring the concerns of a proven soldier._

Skylar rested her forearms on her desk and leaned forward, her belly brushing against the metal surface just a little sooner than she'd expected. But she focused her attention on the man in front of her, "What concerns, Lyle? What's wrong?"

"That's just it, Skylar. I don't know. It's just... There's a lot of things happening lately that just don't add up." He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his fingers, twiddling his thumbs. The fidgeting was one of the many tell-tale signs of nerves. _He's afraid that I won't believe him either._

"Whatever it is, just tell me. I've got plenty of time to help you figure it out."

"Is it really true? What I heard you tell Captain Maze?" he asked, buying time to steel himself.

She nodded, resting a hand on her belly, "Of course. I'm only three months along, which means I'll be stuck in this stone frigate for another six. So, like I said, I've got time."

He offered her a genuine smile this time, "From what I've heard, you'd _make_ time for any of us. No matter what."

Skylar chuckled, "You heard right, _vod'ika_. I _told_ you news travels fast in this army. But that's not what you're here for."

"No, it's... Well, just hear me out." She nodded for him to continue. He ran his hand nervously over the scar on his forehead, "We don't have as many criminals coming into the prison as we used to. And I know this doesn't sound all that alarming. Commander Fox and the Jedi seemed to think it's because of our success on the warfront."

"In the field of bounty-hunting, if the merchandise isn't to be found, it only means that the _hut'uune_ are laying low," Skylar interjected.

"That's _exactly_ what I thought." Now that Lyle was sure that she would believe him, he relaxed and got right to the point, "We're still getting in the usual thieves, murderers, and the rest, but the kind of criminals that the Guard and the CSF _hasn't_ been bringing in belong to crime syndicates like the Black Sun. The Black Sun isn't associated with the Seppies, not as far as I know. So why should my brothers' successes on the battlefield affect them?"

"You've got a very valid point, Lyle. I've heard similar things from my contacts in the Underworld. Whatever's going on, it's not good. I take it that, since you're here instead of at the prison, you're off duty?"

"Yes. But I don't see how that's-"

"And you're off-duty at this same hour tomorrow, correct?" she asked, checking the time on her desk chrono. It was pretty late, almost Tea's bedtime.

"Of course. But I still don't see what my schedule has to do with absent inmates."

"It has everything to do with it. You and I are going to get to the bottom of this. But until I can go to Zey about changing your shifts, we're going to have to work along with your schedule for the time being."

Lyle looked nothing but surprised. _A trooper to the core. It won't be long before I get him used to the commandos' tendency to make spur of the moment decisions, though._

_Come to think of it, he'd make a _very_ good commando..._

"And how, exactly, are you intending to 'get to the bottom'? You said so yourself, not too long ago, that you're on maternity leave." The very fact that the lieutenant hadn't once tripped over his words when mentioning her condition was, in itself, very suspicious. He'd reacted to the news of her pregnancy better than any regular trooper would.

Skylar, however, decided that now probably wasn't the time to question him about that. Instead, she shrugged, "I don't have to be on duty to ask a few questions, Lyle. I've a few contacts in the Underworld who are more than capable of doing my searching for me anyway. Speaking of which, I'm meeting with one tomorrow night. Would you like to join me?"

Lyle shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but his gaze never wavered from hers, "If it means that we'll be one step closer to figuring this out, then I'm all in."

In the back of her mind, Skylar was well aware of a thought that sounded suspiciously like Fives' voice telling her not to get involved. That this new mission was too dangerous for her and the baby. _But I can't just sit by and do nothing_, she countered. Still, she had the nagging feeling that her husband was so going to kill her if he ever found out about this.

* * *

Fives chuckled to himself as he thought over the conversation he'd had with his wife and daughter the night before. Tea had always been very persistent that she didn't want a brother or sister, and Fives had a sneaking suspicion that the reason had something to do with her being an only child thus far. She was jealous of the baby. Even though Fives knew why his little girl was acting in such a way, he still didn't quite understand it. He'd grown up surrounded by brothers, it was all he'd known. He'd never had reason to be jealous, as his sergeants had treated him and his brothers equally with the exception of Bric, of course. Sure, he'd been jealous of Bravo Squad, but that had merely been petty rivalry. Not once had he ever felt the need to voice any thoughts of not wanting his brothers.

_As soon as the baby's born, Teanna will change her mind. Especially since Sky and I will finally be able to prove to her that she's not going to be replaced. Speaking of Sky..._ A wistful smile grew on his face as he remembered his wife showing off her changing figure to him.

Fives was so distracted by his current train of thought that he didn't even notice Tup and Kix until he almost walked right into them. At that moment, he was aware that the only reason why they would be coming down this specific corridor was to see either him or Rex. And since Rex was in the medbay keeping Commander Tano company...

"You alright, Fives?" the younger clone questioned, his expression concerned.

"I'm fine," the ARC Trooper responded, grateful that he'd had his bucket on the entire time. It definitely wouldn't be good if any of his brothers, aside from Rex of course, caught him daydreaming about his little family.

"Are you sure that you didn't hit your head during that last battle?" Kix asked, about to go into full medic mode.

"Positive, Kix. You personally checked me over, remember? You sure you didn't hit _your_ head?"

Tup snorted, but quickly composed himself as Kix sent him an irritated glare. The medic turned his attention back to Fives, "Positive."

For several seconds, neither of them said anything and Fives was beginning to feel uneasy. "What? I haven't got clanker oil on my bucket, have I?" He pulled his _buy'ce_ off his head to check, but Kix stopped hm by clearing his throat.

"What?" Fives reiterated, looking back and forth between the two of them. He focused on Kix, expected the medic to explain.

Tup surprised him by answering, "It's just that several of us have noticed that you've become... distant. I mean, we all know that you're a big, bad ARC now, but you've never closed yourself off from us like this."

Now that they were bringing it up, Fives immediately saw what they were getting at. He thought over the past two months and realized that he'd gotten into the habit of ignoring all of his brothers, except Rex, in an effort to keep any from accidentally finding out about his secret family. _Bad idea, that. Now they _know_ that something's up with me. What the _haran_ am I going to tell them? I've got to give them something to get them off the right track, and quick!_

"I..." _Great, doofus. Now you're really going to make them suspicious._

* * *

_buy'ce = helmet_

_ner = my_

_vod'ika_

_Buir = Papa_

_Jetii'se = Jedi (in the plural)_

_di'kutla = stupid, idiotic, moronic_

_haran = hell_

_stone frigate = clone jargon for an office job._

_merchandise = bounty hunter jargon for someone with a price on their head._

_CSF = Coruscant Security Force_

_Please R&R._


End file.
